SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 12,840 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 60.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,840 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,920,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth approximately $254,778,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,117,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,506,000 after acquiring an additional 516,593 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4,142.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 478,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $93,439,000 after acquiring an additional 466,804 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Argus set a $230.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,998,627.64. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 55,320 shares of company stock worth $10,516,069 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $239.02 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.63 and a 52-week high of $244.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.35.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 22.17%.

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.