Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its Williams-Sonoma stake by 5,019.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 89,388 shares valued at about $15.96 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally positive: Williams-Sonoma has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with an average price target of $206.38. Goldman Sachs recently upgraded the stock to buy.
• The company reported Q4 EPS of $3.04, topping estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.66, implying a 1.7% yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 5,019.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 87,642 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.07% of Williams-Sonoma worth $15,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 14,593 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,961 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,414 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $194,947,000 after purchasing an additional 231,489 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $174,473,000 after purchasing an additional 89,779 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 282,503 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $55,215,000 after purchasing an additional 80,044 shares during the period. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,605,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $185.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.38.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $180.52 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $183.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.39 and a 1 year high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total value of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at $143,967,732.48. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,370 shares of company stock valued at $16,720,823. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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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