Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 1,238 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,761 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,238 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 53,835 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $15,201,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at approximately $927,000. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,784 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,655 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 91.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $172.34.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE WSM traded up $3.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $219.80. 472,871 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,315,870. The business's fifty day moving average price is $191.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.76 and a 52 week high of $219.88.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 26.97%.

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.