Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1,705.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 118,371 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 111,814 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $19,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,471,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,562 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 365,718 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $170,267,000 after buying an additional 254,550 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.0% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 816,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $133,029,000 after buying an additional 60,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% during the second 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $182.09 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $194.34 and its 200-day moving average is $182.05. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.36 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given 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 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock valued at $22,901,008. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.