Ingalls & Snyder LLC Boosts Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,041 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC owned about 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $12,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 125.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 331.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 2,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value 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. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of WSM traded up $7.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $214.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,126,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,403. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.90. The company has a market capitalization of $26.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.74 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 26.97%.

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.