Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 3,122 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,122 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.10% of Williams-Sonoma worth $24,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSM. State Street Corp grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,991,697 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $978,864,000 after buying an additional 127,597 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $284,532,000 after buying an additional 407,929 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $283,686,000 after acquiring an additional 401,138 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $212,107,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 44.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,256,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $205,317,000 after acquiring an additional 389,548 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $167,267,708.43. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,767 shares of company stock worth $12,802,440. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSM. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.76.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE WSM opened at $204.50 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.07 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.33 and a 200-day moving average of $191.20. The firm has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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