Congress Asset Management Co. Cuts Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 61.9%, holding 2,338 shares valued at $382,000 after selling 3,805 shares in the second quarter.
• The CFO of Williams-Sonoma sold shares on September 18, decreasing ownership by 8.46%, while the EVP sold a significant amount on September 8, reducing their stake by 15.08%.
• Analysts have revised target prices for Williams-Sonoma, with estimates now ranging from $200 to $230, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,338 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,805 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $445,000. Regatta Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the second quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,433,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 72.2% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,974 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Stockton grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 15,035 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total value 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 $20,066,816. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,153 shares of company stock worth $28,622,248. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.2%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $201.58 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $196.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.61.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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. Research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.04%.

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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