Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Buys Shares of 6,565 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,565 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,438 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Arjuna Capital increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 3,564 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Argus set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at $143,967,732.48. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 106,892 shares of company stock worth $19,826,826 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $223.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $191.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.71. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.20 and a fifty-two week high of $224.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.56%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.