Meritage Portfolio Management Reduces Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,123 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for approximately 1.0% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $15,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $212.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $200.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.11.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,066,816. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,153 shares of company stock valued at $27,946,408. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $181.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $198.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.32. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $22.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

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.