Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Buys 16,249 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 112.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,249 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 4,901 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,160 shares of company stock worth $11,590,952 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $188.82 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.35. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.63 and a 1 year high of $190.08.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.