5,709 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Acquired by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired 5,709 shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., valued at approximately $903,000, marking a new stake in the specialty retailer.
• Williams-Sonoma reported a quarterly EPS of $2.00, exceeding expectations and achieving a revenue of $1.84 billion, reflecting a 2.7% increase year-on-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 29.04%.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,709 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $903,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,471,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,562 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $85,075,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $81,081,000 after purchasing an additional 475,484 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $71,444,000 after purchasing an additional 450,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $227,164,000 after acquiring an additional 365,718 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were 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 directly owned 98,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,066,816. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 141,500 shares of company stock valued at $27,299,540. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:WSM opened at $199.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.64 and a 200-day moving average of $171.97. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Argus set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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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