Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys 493,146 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 19,941.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.40% of Williams-Sonoma worth $91,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen lifted 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. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target 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. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $192.16 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.41 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $201.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

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.