Kestra Investment Management LLC Sells 2,268 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC sold 2,268 shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., reducing its stake by 71.2% to 916 shares, valued at approximately $145,000.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend of $2.64 and a yield of 1.3%.
• Several investment firms, including Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, have raised their target prices for Williams-Sonoma, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.11.

Kestra Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 71.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 916 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,268 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 583 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE WSM opened at $202.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $188.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.54. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.11.

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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