Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 89 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,258 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,389 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30,883.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 141.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,896 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,378,000 after buying an additional 5,212 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 109.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 101.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,007,000 after buying an additional 13,054 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.28.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.0 %

WSM opened at $194.23 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.79 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $23.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $201.46 and a 200-day moving average of $168.00.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % 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 link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,568 shares of company stock valued at $10,183,355 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.