Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Free Report) by 889.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 95,294 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 85,659 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $17,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 66.7% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 760.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 258 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 25.1% during 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. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.94.
Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.3%
Shares of WSM stock opened at $205.88 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $185.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.20 and a 12-month high of $222.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.49.
Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.56%.
Insider Activity
In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,166,688.32. This trade represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. This trade represents a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 91,370 shares of company stock valued at $16,720,823. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
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.
Read More
- Five stocks we like better than Williams-Sonoma
- 3 Stocks Rallying on Micron’s Price Boost: Substance or Hype?
- Snowflake and the Snowballing Impact of its AI Flywheel
- AI’s Biggest Bottleneck Could Make These 2 Stocks Soar
- These 3 Beaten-Down Stocks Just Saw $25 Million in Insider Buying
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Williams-Sonoma Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Williams-Sonoma and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
