Pensionfund Sabic Purchases Shares of 6,400 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Groupe la Francaise raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 25.1% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 274 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,438 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the third quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eukles Asset Management raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% during the third quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 12,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.5%

WSM stock opened at $182.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.07 and a twelve month high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.83%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,715,497.76. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total value of $3,660,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at $143,967,732.48. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 55,767 shares of company stock valued at $11,076,808 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.