Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stock position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 5.9%, now holding 32,637 shares worth approximately $5.16 million.
• Several analysts have issued target price increases for Williams-Sonoma, with new highs set at $215.00 by Telsey Advisory Group, with an average target of $199.11.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.00, outperforming analyst expectations of $1.79, with revenue of $1.84 billion.

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,637 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,029 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 583 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of 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. UBS Group set a $200.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $203.41 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm's fifty day moving average is $190.07 and its 200 day moving average is $171.82. The firm has a market cap of $24.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.52.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were issued 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 currently 29.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,500 shares of company stock valued at $9,284,240. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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