Brookstone Capital Management Makes New $627,000 Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 3,441 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $627,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSM. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $239.02 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $200.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.22. The company has a market cap of $28.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.51. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.63 and a fifty-two week high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 55,320 shares of company stock worth $10,516,069 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.