Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Position Lessened by Systematic Financial Management LP

Systematic Financial Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 164,521 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,326 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP owned approximately 0.14% of Williams-Sonoma worth $29,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of WSM opened at $218.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $214.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.46. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.51 and a 52-week high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 34.04%.

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.