M. Kulyk & Associates LLC Acquires New Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $825,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 3,564 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.3%

WSM stock opened at $241.03 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.51 and a twelve month high of $254.89. The stock has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $231.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.07.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. 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 18,156 shares of company stock worth $3,738,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $248.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.88.

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.