SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 76.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 679 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,174 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,966,000 after buying an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,641,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $7.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $214.88. 1,126,836 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,216,403. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.74 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $198.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.90. The company has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value 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 approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.