Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 338 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,198 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $182.98 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $117.13 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $201.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.28.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.