Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 41%, owning 7,227 shares worth approximately $1.14 million after selling 5,031 shares during the first quarter.
• Williams-Sonoma reported earnings of $1.85 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.09, and had a quarterly revenue of $1.73 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 29.90%.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 41.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,227 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,031 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $182.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.18.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of WSM stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,409,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,920,919. The stock's 50-day moving average is $176.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%.Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.