Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Purchased by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Williams‑Sonoma by 53.3% in Q4, buying 11,497 shares to hold 33,072 shares valued at about $5.91 million.
• Insider sales were notable—CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares at an average $183.04 and EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares, with insiders offloading 71,370 shares worth roughly $13.27 million over the last 90 days.
• Williams‑Sonoma reported EPS of $3.04 (beat by $0.14) while revenue of $2.36B missed expectations and fell 4.3% year‑over‑year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (annualized $3.04, yield ~1.6%); analysts’ consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $209.56 target.

M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 53.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,072 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 11,497 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Zelman & Associates raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 71,370 shares of company stock worth $13,268,623 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $190.28 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.39 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $192.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.58.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.28 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.