Winnow Wealth LLC Cuts Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Winnow Wealth LLC cut its Williams-Sonoma position by 94.2% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with just 309 shares valued at about $55,000.
• The article also notes heavy insider selling, including CEO Laura Alber’s sale of 15,000 shares and EVP Karalyn Yearout’s sale of 2,267 shares, with insiders selling 106,370 shares over the last 90 days.
• Williams-Sonoma recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.93 EPS on $1.81 billion in revenue, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.66.

Winnow Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 94.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 309 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,054 shares during the quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $55,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 66.7% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 760.0% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 258 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at $184,704,800. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 5.5%

WSM opened at $213.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.51. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $189.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.97. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.20 and a 52 week high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.56%.

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.

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