Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Acquired by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 5.5%, owning 350,131 shares valued at approximately $57.2 million at the end of the latest quarter.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for Williams-Sonoma, with KeyCorp setting a new target of $230 and the company receiving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, which will be paid on November 21st, reflecting a yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 29.04%.

Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 5.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 350,131 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,341 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.28% of Williams-Sonoma worth $57,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 865.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,557 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 5,878 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 9.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,727 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 62,690 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $9,911,000 after buying an additional 7,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $190.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.55. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $197.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.61. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total transaction of $18,015,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 876,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $175,534,477.59. This trade represents a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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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