Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 3,230 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, 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 through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total transaction of $128,615.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,975,846.05. The trade was a 2.52% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,156 shares of company stock valued at $3,738,699. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $237.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $254.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.75.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $192.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $248.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.88.

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.