Whipplewood Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,007 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,389 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30,883.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 141.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,896 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 5,212 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 109.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 101.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,007,000 after buying an additional 13,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WSM. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush boosted their target price 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE WSM opened at $198.35 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.41 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $200.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.45. The stock has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.