Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Acquired by 1832 Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 23.2%, acquiring an additional 2,868 shares, bringing their total holdings to 15,254 shares valued at approximately $2.41 million.
• Insider transactions included CEO Laura Alber selling 30,000 shares for nearly $4.93 million, resulting in a 2.92% decrease in her ownership.
• Analysts have varying target prices for Williams-Sonoma, with a consensus price target of $185.59 and a general "Hold" rating among multiple firms.

1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 23.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,254 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,868 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $170,267,000 after buying an additional 254,550 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $119,516,000 after buying an additional 24,741 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $85,075,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.35. The company had a trading volume of 831,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,912,340. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $23.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's 50 day moving average is $183.30 and its 200 day moving average is $172.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,000 shares of company stock worth $6,349,680 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $198.35.

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.