Burford Brothers Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,695 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 66.7% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $185.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.81.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $168.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $147.39 and a 1-year high of $222.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $184.81 and its 200-day moving average is $192.21.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.83%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This trade represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,370 shares of company stock worth $13,268,623. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.