8,455 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Bought by Caxton Associates LLP

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, purchasing 8,455 shares worth approximately $1,337,000 during the first quarter.
• Williams-Sonoma reported $2.00 earnings per share for its last quarter, outpacing analyst expectations by $0.21, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.7%.
• Institutional investors hold 99.29% of Williams-Sonoma's stock, with several large investors recently increasing their positions in the company.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,455 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,337,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $170,267,000 after purchasing an additional 254,550 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $85,075,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% in 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 33.9% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 509,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $80,500,000 after purchasing an additional 129,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WSM opened at $202.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.52. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $188.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.54.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two analysts have 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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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