9,299 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Bought by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 243,832 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,585 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 164.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 34,039 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,653,000 after acquiring an additional 21,165 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $402,000. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $475,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total value of $7,258,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,267,708.43. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.53.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of WSM opened at $214.29 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $199.30 and its 200 day moving average is $195.07. The company has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.64. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.07 and a 12-month high of $221.81.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

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.