Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 11,940 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 852,234 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 11,940 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $152,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 274 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,438 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% 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 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $205.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.51. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $152.20 and a one year high of $222.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $188.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.06.

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.