Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $1.32 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSMFree Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,322,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during 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 during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.03.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WSM

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $202.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.76 and a 52 week high of $204.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $180.75 and its 200-day moving average is $155.99.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)

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