Adero Partners LLC Sells 545 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Adero Partners LLC decreased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 545 shares during the quarter. Adero Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $416,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 6,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Finally, Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, 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 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 directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $209.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $194.13 and a 200-day moving average of $160.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 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.