Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $20.51 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,814 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 39,055 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $20,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $316,920,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $254,778,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after purchasing an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,117,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,506,000 after purchasing an additional 516,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4,142.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 478,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $93,439,000 after purchasing an additional 466,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $222.85 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.11 and a 12 month high of $230.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $192.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.15. The firm has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.07, for a total transaction of $106,002.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,635,885.03. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total transaction of $267,410.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. This represents a 3.99% 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 a total of 86,892 shares of company stock valued at $16,166,026 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.