Plato Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,030 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. 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. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $1,644,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $299,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $434,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $1,337,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $203.41 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $190.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.82. The company has a market cap of $24.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total value of $3,563,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,066,816. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,500 shares of company stock valued at $9,284,240 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.11.

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.