JLB & Associates Inc. Increases Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• JLB & Associates boosted its stake in Williams‑Sonoma by 616.8% in Q4, acquiring an additional 15,210 shares to hold 17,676 shares worth about $3.16 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $209.56 average price target, and several recent upgrades include Goldman Sachs moving to a Buy with a $218 target.
• Williams‑Sonoma reported quarterly EPS of $3.04 (above estimates) while revenue fell 4.3% year‑over‑year to $2.36 billion, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (annualized $3.04, ~1.7% yield).

JLB & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 616.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,676 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 15,210 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 25.1% during the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 274 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,438 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,864,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,146,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zelman & Associates raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $183.50 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.39 and a 1 year high of $222.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $188.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.85. The firm has a market cap of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,370 shares of company stock worth $13,268,623. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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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