VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Increases Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its Williams-Sonoma stake by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 38,000 more shares and bringing its total to 164,200 shares valued at about $29.3 million.
• Several analysts turned more positive on the stock, with Goldman Sachs upgrading Williams-Sonoma to Buy and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with an average price target of $209.06.
• Williams-Sonoma reported EPS of $3.04, beating expectations, and also announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, up from $0.66 previously.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 38,000 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.14% of Williams-Sonoma worth $29,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after buying an additional 147,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $254,778,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $213,888,000 after acquiring an additional 263,027 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,014,643 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $181,213,000 after acquiring an additional 17,229 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was 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 directly owned 786,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,967,732.48. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,370 shares of company stock valued at $13,268,623. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Evercore set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $171.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $185.87 and a 200 day moving average of $192.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.39 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. Analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 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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