Seascape Capital Management Sells 345 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Seascape Capital Management trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,078 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 2.8% of Seascape Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Seascape Capital Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $8,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 331.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 129.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,501,000 after purchasing an additional 16,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 220.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 4,738 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $214.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.74 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $198.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.90.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.