HS Management Partners LLC Acquires 44,075 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• HS Management Partners LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 20.6%, acquiring an additional 44,075 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total to 258,307 shares.
• Several large investors, including the State of Alaska Department of Revenue, have also increased their positions in Williams-Sonoma, which is now dominated by institutional investors owning 99.29% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts have a consensus price target of $199.11 for Williams-Sonoma, with multiple firms raising their price objectives for the stock, reflecting a generally positive outlook.

HS Management Partners LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 258,307 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 44,075 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma makes up about 3.4% of HS Management Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. HS Management Partners LLC owned about 0.21% of Williams-Sonoma worth $42,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 53.4% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 29,789 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,865,000 after purchasing an additional 10,365 shares during the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $238,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $445,000. Regatta Capital Group LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the second quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,433,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total value of $18,015,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $175,534,477.59. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,153 shares of company stock valued at $28,622,248 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $201.58 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.28 and a 200 day moving average of $172.63. The firm has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.52.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

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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