Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 75.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund owned 0.05% of Williams-Sonoma worth $11,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $316,920,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $254,778,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,117,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,506,000 after acquiring an additional 516,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4,142.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 478,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $93,439,000 after acquiring an additional 466,804 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,433,306.10. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 55,320 shares of company stock valued at $10,516,069 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays set a $190.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $227.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.76 and a 52-week high of $244.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $203.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.85.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

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.