Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,121,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 197,036 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $207,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after buying an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $192.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.41 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $201.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.62.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.34.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 owned by corporate insiders.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.