12,728 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Acquired by OP Asset Management Ltd

OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,728 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 3.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $627,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 60.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,240,000 after purchasing an additional 12,840 shares during the period. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.1% during the first quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,433,306.10. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 55,320 shares of company stock valued at $10,516,069 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $239.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $200.25 and a 200 day moving average of $197.22. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.63 and a 12 month high of $244.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.17%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.