JGP Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 74.5%, owning a total of 10,944 shares valued at approximately $1.79 million.
• Recent analyst reports have led to varied price target adjustments for Williams-Sonoma, with estimates ranging from $200.00 to $230.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Williams-Sonoma also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.4%, highlighting their commitment to returning value to shareholders.

JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 74.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,944 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,671 shares during the quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.7%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $190.01 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company's 50 day moving average is $197.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.61. The firm has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior 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 research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,787,999.92. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at $20,066,816. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock valued at $22,901,008. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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