Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 27.5% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 127,370 shares valued at about $20.14 million.
• Williams-Sonoma reported $2.00 EPS for its latest quarter, exceeding expectations of $1.79, with revenues of $1.84 billion up 2.7% year-over-year.
• Analyst target prices for Williams-Sonoma have been largely increased, with reports from JPMorgan and Citigroup lifting their target prices to between $202.00 and $215.00, adding to a positive outlook for the company's stock.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 27.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,370 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 48,430 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.10% of Williams-Sonoma worth $20,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 13.8% during 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. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $588,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $202.60 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.46 and a 200-day moving average of $171.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.52.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid 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 payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.11.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at $20,066,816. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,500 shares of company stock worth $9,284,240. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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