Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 639.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,512 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 99,883 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $17,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 403.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,045 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 9,651 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 81.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,312 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 168.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 8,757 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,473,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $5.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $188.82. 1,561,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,470,486. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.63 and a 12-month high of $190.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.81.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.41.

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.