Czech National Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• The Czech National Bank increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 6.3%, adding 1,776 shares for a total of 30,050 shares valued at approximately $4.91 million.
• Over the past three months, corporate insiders, including EVP David Randolph King and CFO Jeffrey Howie, have sold a total of 141,500 shares worth nearly $27.3 million.
• Williams-Sonoma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, payable on November 21, with a dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 29.04%.

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,050 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 16,526 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,060,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,460 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 2,078 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,066,816. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 144,653 shares of company stock worth $27,926,483. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of WSM traded down $1.49 on Monday, reaching $196.76. The stock had a trading volume of 888,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,300,829. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $193.62 and a 200 day moving average of $171.95.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The firm 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%.Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.