Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 2,299 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,632 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,299 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for approximately 1.2% of Meritage Portfolio Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management owned 0.08% of Williams-Sonoma worth $19,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $416,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 6,400 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,969 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $3.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $207.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,108,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,403. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.50 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $196.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.93.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 26.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.