PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Purchases New Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought 145,209 shares of Williams‑Sonoma (about $26.34M), representing roughly 0.12% ownership at quarter end, while institutional investors now hold 99.29% of the stock and several large funds (Boston Partners, First Trust, Wellington, Victory, Man Group) materially increased their stakes.
• Wall Street sentiment has improved — Goldman Sachs upgraded WSM to a Buy and raised its price target to $218, and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $209.56.
• Fundamentals show a mixed picture: Williams‑Sonoma beat EPS estimates ($3.04 vs. $2.90) despite revenue falling 4.3% year‑over‑year, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (annualized $3.04, ~1.7% yield).

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 145,209 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $26,341,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned 0.12% of Williams-Sonoma at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $254,778,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $443,566,000 after buying an additional 532,995 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4,142.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 478,072 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $93,439,000 after buying an additional 466,804 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 307.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,526 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $117,373,000 after buying an additional 453,214 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 623.0% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 394,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $64,418,000 after buying an additional 339,771 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $179.94 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $147.39 and a one year high of $222.00. The company has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.94.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.83%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the company'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 $4,494,833.99. This trade represents a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,370 shares of company stock worth $13,268,623. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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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