State Street Corp Buys 112,683 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• State Street increased its Williams-Sonoma stake by 1.9%, purchasing 112,683 shares to own 5.91 million shares, or about 5.02% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 99.29% of outstanding shares.
• Williams-Sonoma reported quarterly EPS of $2.10, exceeding estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $1.96 billion. The stock opened at $232.54, with analysts maintaining a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $245.56.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to $3.04 annually and a 1.3% yield. Meanwhile, company insiders sold 39,567 shares worth approximately $8.8 million over the past 90 days, largely through pre-arranged trading plans.

State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,906,785 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 112,683 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 5.02% of Williams-Sonoma worth $1,376,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 229.4% during the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at $35,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,045 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.61, for a total value of $671,757.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,531,184.18. This trade represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total value of $128,615.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $4,975,846.05. This represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 39,567 shares of company stock worth $8,792,373 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.4%

WSM stock opened at $232.54 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $232.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.35. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $254.89. The stock has a market cap of $27.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.48% and a net margin of 14.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group set a $260.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $275.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $270.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, July 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $253.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.56.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on high-quality home furnishings, housewares and lifestyle products. The company sells furniture, bedding, bath goods, lighting, rugs, window treatments, home décor, kitchen equipment, cookware, tabletop products, outdoor furnishings and related accessories through e-commerce platforms, catalogs and retail stores.

The company operates a portfolio of brands that includes Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Mark & Graham and Rejuvenation.

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