Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber Sells 90,000 Shares

Key Points

• Laura Alber, CEO of Williams-Sonoma, sold 90,000 shares of the company stock for approximately $18 million, reducing her ownership by 9.31% to 876,927 shares.
• Williams-Sonoma's stock price rose 0.2% to $196.55, with a market cap of $23.94 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62.
• The company recently reported $2.00 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations and setting its FY 2025 guidance at a forecasted 8.36 EPS.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total value of $18,015,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 876,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,534,477.59. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 15th, Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $1.54 on Friday, reaching $198.08. 2,628,643 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,852,940. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $192.64 and a 200 day moving average of $171.97.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,562 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,991,697 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $978,864,000 after buying an additional 127,597 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $284,532,000 after buying an additional 407,929 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $283,686,000 after buying an additional 401,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $227,164,000 after buying an additional 365,718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.