Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Lowers Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its Williams‑Sonoma stake by 20.4%, selling 16,086 shares and leaving it with 62,894 shares worth about $11.28 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares and CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares, with insiders offloading 71,370 shares in the past 90 days.
• Williams‑Sonoma raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 ($3.04 annual, 1.6% yield) and reported Q EPS of $3.04 (beating estimates) while revenue fell to $2.36 billion, missing consensus.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,894 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 16,086 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.05% of Williams-Sonoma worth $11,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.9% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,510 shares in the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 14,593 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,961 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,414 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $194,947,000 after purchasing an additional 231,489 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $174,473,000 after purchasing an additional 89,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 282,503 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $55,215,000 after acquiring an additional 80,044 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at $143,967,732.48. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,166,688.32. This trade represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 71,370 shares of company stock worth $13,268,623 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.1%

WSM stock opened at $190.28 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.39 and a 52 week high of $222.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.58.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.28 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.19 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.

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