Meritage Portfolio Management Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Meritage Portfolio Management cut its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,632 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,299 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 1.2% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $19,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $416,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 6,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Finally, Trust Point Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Wedbush increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of WSM opened at $208.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $193.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.38. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.57 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.