First Long Island Investors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• First Long Island Investors LLC reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 12.3%, now owning 134,298 shares valued at approximately $21.2 million.
• In the 1st quarter, several other institutional investors notably increased their stakes in Williams-Sonoma, with Quarry LP growing its share by 99%.
• Williams-Sonoma recently reported earnings of $2.00 per share, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66, reflecting an annual yield of 1.3%.

First Long Island Investors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,298 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 18,823 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma makes up approximately 1.7% of First Long Island Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. First Long Island Investors LLC owned about 0.11% of Williams-Sonoma worth $21,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $203.41 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $190.07 and its 200 day moving average is $171.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.52.

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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma'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 analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $3,563,000.00. Following the sale, 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. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. KeyCorp increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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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