Swiss National Bank Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 350,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $63,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 229.4% in the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. 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. Argus set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% 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 a total of 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $221.15 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.65. The company has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $212.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.94.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

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.