UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 34.1% in Q1, now holding approximately 1.17% of the company's stock valued at $227.16 million.
• The company reported earnings of $2.00 per share, exceeding expectations and showing a 2.7% revenue increase year-over-year, with a market cap of $24.77 billion.
• Williams-Sonoma also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting a 1.3% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 29.04%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 34.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 365,718 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 1.17% of Williams-Sonoma worth $227,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.4%

WSM opened at $203.41 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.82. The company has a market cap of $24.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total value of $3,563,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,066,816. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,500 shares of company stock worth $9,284,240 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Zelman & Associates began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.11.

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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