Everence Capital Management Inc. Takes $648,000 Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third 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. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 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 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of WSM traded up $5.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $192.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,010,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,447. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $95.76 and a one year high of $199.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $166.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.99.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 26.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.78.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.