Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd Invests $2.31 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,917 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,307,000. Williams-Sonoma comprises 0.9% of Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $203.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.20 and a 52 week high of $222.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.90.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 1.60% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Argus set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.06.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.