Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Norden Group LLC

Key Points

• Norden Group LLC reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 60.4% in Q2, now holding 1,400 shares worth $229,000 after selling 2,137 shares.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions, with Mackenzie Financial Corp raising its stake by 68.3% and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increasing theirs by 111.7%.
• The company reported strong earnings with $2.00 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and has announced a $0.66 quarterly dividend due on November 21st.

Norden Group LLC lessened its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 60.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,400 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,137 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 16,526 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,060,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,985 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 4,457 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,745 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,138,000 after acquiring an additional 28,880 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at $20,066,816. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,153 shares of company stock worth $28,622,248. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSM. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given 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 "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $201.58 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $196.28 and its 200-day moving average is $172.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.52. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

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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