Cooper Financial Group Reduces Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Cooper Financial Group has decreased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 39.1%, now holding 3,696 shares valued at approximately $604,000.
• Insider selling activity includes CFO Jeffrey Howie, who sold 3,153 shares for about $626,943, and EVP David Randolph King, who sold 17,500 shares for approximately $3.56 million.
• The company recently announced a dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.4%.

Cooper Financial Group trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,696 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,369 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was 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 owned 98,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,066,816. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,153 shares of company stock worth $27,946,408 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $195.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.15. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group set a $200.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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. Two equities 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.11.

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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