MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Sells 22,906 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 45.9%, selling 22,906 shares and owning 27,005 shares worth $4.4 million at the quarter's end.
• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8%, owning a total of 15.6 million shares valued at $2.47 billion after buying an additional 2.8 million shares.
• The company reported earnings of $2.00 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $1.84 billion, which was above analyst forecasts.

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lessened its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 45.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,005 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 22,906 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,471,152,000 after buying an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $85,075,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 475,484 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 450,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $227,164,000 after buying an additional 365,718 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $199.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.52. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $195.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.33.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,534,477.59. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,653 shares of company stock valued at $27,926,483. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.11.

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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