Modera Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Modera Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 175,768 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 8,971 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC owned 0.15% of Williams-Sonoma worth $32,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 229.4% in the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. 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. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.1%

WSM stock opened at $228.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.51 and a 52-week high of $244.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $210.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.24.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 34.04%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.