Boston Trust Walden Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 46,108 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.19% of Williams-Sonoma worth $42,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WSM. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,320 shares of company stock valued at $10,516,069. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $227.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $202.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.66. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.76 and a 12 month high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company 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 business earned $1.85 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.17%.

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.