Western Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,642 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Western Wealth Management initiated a Williams-Sonoma position by purchasing 5,642 shares worth approximately $1.03 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.29% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $223.29; recent targets range from $190 to $261. The stock opened at $245.38, near its 52-week high.
• Williams-Sonoma exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.93 in EPS and $1.81 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 4.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 1.2% annualized yield.

Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,642 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 369,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $67,427,000 after buying an additional 7,388 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,195 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $8,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,978 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,108,589 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $202,129,000 after acquiring an additional 561,977 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $261.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, July 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $253.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.29.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $245.38 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $254.89. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $228.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.07. The company has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total transaction of $128,615.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,975,846.05. This represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 18,156 shares of company stock valued at $3,738,699 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source