149,260 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Bought by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 149,260 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $23,123,000. World Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of Williams-Sonoma at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,547 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,936 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $5.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $188.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,561,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,417,374. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.63 and a 12-month high of $190.08. The company has a market capitalization of $23.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $149.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.35.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,160 shares of company stock worth $11,590,952 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.