Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 15,500 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Williams-Sonoma stake by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 15,500 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 119,320 shares worth about $21.3 million.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive on WSM: analysts give it an average Moderate Buy rating with a consensus target price of $206.38, though several firms recently trimmed or adjusted their price targets.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Laura Alber and CFO Jeffrey Howie, while Williams-Sonoma also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, implying a 1.7% yield.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,320 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 15,500 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.10% of Williams-Sonoma worth $21,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth $254,778,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4,142.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 478,072 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $93,439,000 after acquiring an additional 466,804 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,526 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $117,373,000 after acquiring an additional 453,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 623.0% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 394,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $64,418,000 after acquiring an additional 339,771 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $213.00 to $191.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 938,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,370 shares of company stock valued at $16,720,823. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $180.52 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $183.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.70. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $147.39 and a one year high of $222.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.83%.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.

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