Congress Asset Management Co. Has $19.53 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,445 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,925 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $19,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $171,239,000 after purchasing an additional 565,745 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.5 %

WSM traded down $3.33 on Wednesday, hitting $214.38. 897,795 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,236,813. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.74 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $199.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.45.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.