Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $1.41 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 38.9% in Q2, reducing its holdings to 8,638 shares valued at $1.41 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management, significantly increased their positions in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter, suggesting strong interest in the retailer's stock.
• Williams-Sonoma recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%.

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,638 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,493 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,019,000 after purchasing an additional 9,266 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 128.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 217,644 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $34,410,000 after purchasing an additional 122,180 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 26.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,197 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.56.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of WSM opened at $185.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $196.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.22. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,787,999.92. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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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