Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Invests $5.77 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 36,475 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,767,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Quarry LP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $200.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.11.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, 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 corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.67. The company had a trading volume of 687,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,459,014. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.52. The business's 50-day moving average is $188.87 and its 200 day moving average is $171.54.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company'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, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

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.