Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $2.76 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 33.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,140 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.71.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of WSM opened at $206.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $186.22 and a 200 day moving average of $188.97. The company has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.58. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.07 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 17,839 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.51, for a total value of $3,184,439.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 859,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,355,798.88. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.