Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 45.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,863 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 14,235 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $8,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,199,961,000 after acquiring an additional 147,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,664,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,833,000 after purchasing an additional 224,128 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 130,940 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,661,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,703,000 after buying an additional 86,807 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following 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. 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 have sold 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $226.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.70. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its 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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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 announced 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.12.

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.