Vest Financial LLC Has $53.91 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Williams‑Sonoma by 6.8% to 301,845 shares worth $53,906,000, leaving institutional investors owning about 99.29% of the stock.
• Insiders have been net sellers, unloading 71,370 shares valued at $13.27 million over the past three months — including CEO Laura Alber's sale of 20,000 shares (~$3.66M) and EVP Karalyn Yearout's sale of 2,267 shares.
• Williams‑Sonoma beat EPS estimates ($3.04 vs. $2.90) despite a 4.3% YoY revenue decline, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 ($3.04 annual, 1.6% yield), and carries an average analyst price target of $209.56 with Goldman Sachs upgrading to a Buy and a $218 target.

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 301,845 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 19,342 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.25% of Williams-Sonoma worth $53,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 71,370 shares of company stock valued at $13,268,623 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of WSM opened at $192.04 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $147.39 and a 12 month high of $222.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $191.58 and its 200-day moving average is $193.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.58.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Williams-Sonoma 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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