First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Boosts Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,948 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $211.72 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $187.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.94. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.76 and a 1-year high of $214.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WSM shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.