Twin Tree Management LP Acquires Shares of 2,965 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after acquiring an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $316,920,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $254,778,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,888,000 after acquiring an additional 263,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Argus set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $213.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.97. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.20 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.56%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,433,306.10. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823 in the last ninety days. 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.