5,552 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Purchased by Scientech Research LLC

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,552 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $878,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,496 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $202.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $24.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $187.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.27. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma 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.

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