Everence Capital Management Inc. Invests $648,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.2% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 9,374 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,667 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.6% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 9,501 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,694 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $40,010,000 after purchasing an additional 12,208 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,797 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 448.2% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 78,962 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $22,296,000 after buying an additional 64,558 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $192.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.76 and a 12 month high of $199.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $166.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.05.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, 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 transaction of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.78.

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.