JGP Wealth Management LLC Purchases 27,337 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 249.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 27,337 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,961,000 after purchasing an additional 8,592 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 153.7% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 7,439 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 44.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,256,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $205,317,000 after buying an additional 389,548 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.0% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 816,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,029,000 after acquiring an additional 60,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 918.6% during the second quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 5,093 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 4,593 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 12,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.07, for a total value of $2,201,992.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 846,927 shares in the company, valued at $153,353,071.89. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WSM. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.71.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $189.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.80. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.07 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

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.