Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes $7.60 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 38,372 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,595,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.8% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 282,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $55,215,000 after buying an additional 80,044 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 66.5% during the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 6,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after buying an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $175.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.6%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $215.42 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.07 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $188.42 and its 200 day moving average is $190.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

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.