Centric Wealth Management Makes New $10.17 Million Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Centric Wealth Management acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 47,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,167,000. Williams-Sonoma makes up 1.6% of Centric Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the 4th 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 period. Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC boosted 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $192.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp increased their price target on 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 $240.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.88.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $241.33 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.58. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $165.51 and a 52 week high of $254.89. The stock has a market cap of $28.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,156 shares of company stock valued at $3,738,699 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.