Securian Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $32,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $188.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.37. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.56.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.