IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $3.99 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 9.3% during Q2, acquiring an additional 2,083 shares, bringing its total holdings to 24,393 shares valued at approximately $3.98 million.
• Insider trading revealed significant sales, including 4,000 shares sold by CFO Jeffrey Howie and 90,000 shares by CEO Laura Alber, indicating a 10.42% and 9.31% decrease in their positions, respectively.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Williams-Sonoma, with a consensus target of $199.11, reflecting a positive outlook with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,393 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,562 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $85,075,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $81,081,000 after acquiring an additional 475,484 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $71,444,000 after purchasing an additional 450,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $227,164,000 after purchasing an additional 365,718 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total transaction of $18,015,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 876,927 shares in the company, valued at $175,534,477.59. The trade was a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,653 shares of company stock valued at $27,926,483. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $1.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $196.76. The company had a trading volume of 888,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,300,829. 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 $23.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $193.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.95.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.11.

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.