Aristotle Capital Management LLC Has $2.03 Billion Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,009,032 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma makes up approximately 4.3% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $2,031,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $316,920,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $254,778,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.0% in 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 buying an additional 516,593 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4,142.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 478,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $93,439,000 after buying an additional 466,804 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 623.0% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 394,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $64,418,000 after buying an additional 339,771 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 a total of 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WSM. 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Argus set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 target price on shares of 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.12.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $226.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.51 and a fifty-two week high of $244.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $215.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.63.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 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.