Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 32,379 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 819,855 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 32,379 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $149,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. State Street Corp raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after purchasing an additional 147,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,440,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $435,840,000 after buying an additional 170,991 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $342,797,000 after buying an additional 130,940 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,661,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $296,703,000 after buying an additional 86,807 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 938,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. The trade was a 2.09% 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 hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.65.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $228.50 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.86 and a 200 day moving average of $201.34. The stock has a market cap of $26.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

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.