Royal Bank of Canada Has $36.49 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 9.4%, selling 23,906 shares in the first quarter, and now owns approximately 0.19% of the company valued at around $36.5 million.
• Williams-Sonoma reported a 2.00 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.79, and plans to post earnings of 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66, amounting to an annualized dividend of $2.64 with a yield of 1.3%.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 23,906 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.19% of Williams-Sonoma worth $36,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 687,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,459,014. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.54.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.