Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $1.71 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 7,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,711,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total transaction of $128,615.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $4,975,846.05. This represents a 2.52% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,156 shares of company stock worth $3,738,699. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, July 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Argus set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.88.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.7%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $237.34 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $254.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $232.33 and a 200 day moving average of $207.75.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

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.