Cumberland Partners Ltd Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Cumberland Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 28,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,484,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 25.1% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 274 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the third quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 12,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,458,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $214.10 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.07 and a fifty-two week high of $221.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.65. The company has a market capitalization of $25.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.64.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $175.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.11.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.