Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Acquired by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. significantly increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, acquiring an additional 450,723 shares, which amounts to a 38,589.3% increase in ownership.
• In its latest earnings report, Williams-Sonoma reported an EPS of $2.00, outperforming analysts' estimates of $1.79, and achieved a revenue of $1.84 billion, marking a 2.7% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, with an overall payout ratio of 29.04%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 38,589.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 450,723 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.37% of Williams-Sonoma worth $71,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $203.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $186.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.93. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. The company'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. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $199.11.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.