J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $1.87 Million Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 40.6%, holding a total of 11,441 shares worth approximately $1.87 million as of the second quarter.
• Insider activity includes significant sales, with CEO Laura Alber selling 90,000 shares valued at over $18 million, and EVP Karalyn Yearout selling 3,500 shares valued at nearly $700,000.
• Several analysts have maintained a positive outlook on Williams-Sonoma, with target prices ranging from $200 to $215 and a general rating of Moderate Buy among analysts.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG decreased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,441 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,807 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 9,266 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 122,180 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 26.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,197 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, 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 value of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,783,656.37. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,153 shares of company stock valued at $27,946,408 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $199.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.55. The company's 50-day moving average is $197.90 and its 200-day moving average is $173.48. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The company's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Williams-Sonoma Company 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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