Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.4%, owning approximately 0.28% of the company valued at $53.5 million after acquiring additional shares.
• CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock for a total of about $5.05 million, decreasing her ownership by 3.01%, while CFO Jeffrey Howie also reduced his stake by 10.42% through a 4,000 shares sale.
• Williams-Sonoma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share with a yield of 1.3%, set to be paid on August 22nd to shareholders recorded by July 18th.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 338,125 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 28,994 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.28% of Williams-Sonoma worth $53,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.18.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $202.43 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

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.

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