Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,964,000 after acquiring an additional 87,642 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,473,000 after acquiring an additional 89,779 shares in the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at $4,605,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 294,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,612,000 after acquiring an additional 56,578 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,967,732.48. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 106,370 shares of company stock valued at $19,720,823 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $205.03 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.20 and a 1-year high of $222.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $188.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.56%.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.