State of Alaska Department of Revenue Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• The State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 53.4% in the second quarter, owning a total of 29,789 shares valued at approximately $4.87 million.
• Research analysts have raised their target prices for Williams-Sonoma, with estimates reaching as high as $230.00, and most analysts giving it a Moderate Buy rating.
• Williams-Sonoma recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66, with a dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 29.04%.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,789 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 10,365 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP grew 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 buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.11.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,656.37. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,066,816. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 144,153 shares of company stock valued at $27,946,408. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 4.5%

WSM opened at $192.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $196.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.84. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued 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 yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

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.

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