Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 7,155 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 34,999 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,155 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,199,961,000 after purchasing an additional 147,780 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after purchasing an additional 532,995 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $316,920,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $254,778,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $213,888,000 after purchasing an additional 263,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,166,688.32. The trade was a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE WSM opened at $202.28 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.20 and a 1-year high of $222.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $188.83 and a 200-day moving average of $192.70. The company has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.56%.

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.