California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 6,527 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168,581 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,527 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of Williams-Sonoma worth $30,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Aristotle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,031,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009,032 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 147,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 224,128 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $342,797,000 after purchasing an additional 130,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $316,920,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,704,800. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WSM. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $228.89 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $244.65. The stock has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $221.01 and its 200-day moving average is $203.96.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.