Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 6,703 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,605,872 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,703 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.81% of Williams-Sonoma worth $3,050,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 130.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1,236.8% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.1%

WSM opened at $214.10 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.65. The stock has a market cap of $25.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.64. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.07 and a 1 year high of $221.81.

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 net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 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, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Evercore set a $215.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zelman & Associates raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $202.11.

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.