Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 17th

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of 0.76 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, August 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th.

Williams-Sonoma has increased its dividend by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Williams-Sonoma has a dividend payout ratio of 33.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $10.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.7%.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.0%

WSM stock opened at $223.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.71. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $152.20 and a 52 week high of $224.33.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total transaction of $267,410.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 106,892 shares of company stock worth $19,826,826. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aristotle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% in the first quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,031,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009,032 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after buying an additional 147,780 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,664,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,833,000 after buying an additional 224,128 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $342,797,000 after buying an additional 130,940 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,920,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.