Railway Pension Investments Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Railway Pension Investments Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,900 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 10,200 shares during the quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 130.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group set a $175.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 17,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.51, for a total value of $3,184,439.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 859,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,355,798.88. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $187.84 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.07 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $186.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.37. The stock has a market cap of $22.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.58.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

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.