Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $190.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.65.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This 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. Insiders sold a total of 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE WSM opened at $221.15 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.51 and a 12 month high of $244.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.94. The company has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.04%.

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.