Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,842 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $190.01 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.61.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WSM. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,066,816. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.