Geode Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,497,235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 57,131 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $622,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 66.7% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 760.0% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 258 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 25.1% during the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 274 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $203.89 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $185.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.90. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.20 and a 1-year high of $222.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 106,370 shares of company stock valued at $19,720,823 over the last quarter. 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.