AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Takes $10.24 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 52,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,237,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,644,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 378,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $61,900,000 after purchasing an additional 20,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,198,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $205.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.10. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.58. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.07 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at $167,267,708.43. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,497.76. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock worth $12,802,440. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.