TCW Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 12,641 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

TCW Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,641 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,958,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 worth $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in 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. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of WSM traded up $4.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $195.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,394,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,585. The company has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.81. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.76 and a 12-month high of $198.70. The company's 50-day moving average is $152.30 and its 200 day moving average is $147.60.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $154.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma 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 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. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,160 shares of company stock worth $11,590,952 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.