Penserra Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,068 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,205,000 after buying an additional 4,510 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 14,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,852,000 after acquiring an additional 4,961 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $194,947,000 after acquiring an additional 231,489 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 54.9% during the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,961,000 after acquiring an additional 8,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 7,439 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $220.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.98. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $130.07 and a one year high of $221.81. The firm has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at $167,267,708.43. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.