M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Invests $418,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,257 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% during the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $3.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $202.73. 1,452,286 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,779,851. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.99. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.76 and a 12-month high of $204.68. The stock has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.03.

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.