Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,400 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSM. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the third 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 period. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of WSM traded up $3.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $202.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,452,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,851. The firm 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. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $179.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.34. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.76 and a 52-week high of $204.68.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.03.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value 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 $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.