Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Has $1.98 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,083 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises about 1.3% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,471,152,000 after buying an additional 2,797,562 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $85,075,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,664,000 after buying an additional 521,283 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,081,000 after purchasing an additional 475,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,444,000 after purchasing an additional 450,723 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 144,153 shares of company stock worth $27,946,408. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of WSM opened at $181.42 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $198.04 and its 200-day moving average is $174.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.