Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,133 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1,450.0% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 15,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares during the period. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 51,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,221,000 after purchasing an additional 4,097 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,731 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,158,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. 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 note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Argus set a $230.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $205.03 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.51. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.20 and a 1 year high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.56%.

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.