Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 2,611 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 1.7%, acquiring an additional 2,611 shares for a total of 155,681 shares worth approximately $24.6 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Williams-Sonoma, with JPMorgan Chase setting a new target of $215 and an overall consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $199.11.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.00, surpassing estimates of $1.79, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66.

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,681 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,611 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.13% of Williams-Sonoma worth $24,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 9,266 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 128.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 217,644 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $34,410,000 after acquiring an additional 122,180 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Argus set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $199.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $203.05 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $186.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.93. The company has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.52. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The business's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 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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