Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Bought by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 75.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $11,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,964,000 after acquiring an additional 87,642 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,473,000 after acquiring an additional 89,779 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $4,605,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 294,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,612,000 after purchasing an additional 56,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after purchasing an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Argus set a $230.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $227.20 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.76 and a 52 week high of $244.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $203.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The company 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 business posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 22.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 55,320 shares of company stock valued at $10,516,069 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.