Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 57.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,844 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 17,844 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $85,075,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,664,000 after purchasing an additional 521,283 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,081,000 after purchasing an additional 475,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,444,000 after acquiring an additional 450,723 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.3%

WSM stock opened at $187.51 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.04. The firm has a market cap of $22.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,066,816. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Argus set a $212.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.56.

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.