Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,765 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 23,594 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $9,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WSM. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $172.02 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $92.55 and a one year high of $181.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.