Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 39.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,690 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 7,675.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total value of $18,015,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,534,477.59. The trade was a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $191.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.54. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $128.37 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

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.