Stevens Capital Management LP Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,816 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $860,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. State Street Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during 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 in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after buying an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $254,778,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,888,000 after buying an additional 263,027 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,014,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $181,213,000 after buying an additional 17,229 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 958,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,704,800. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 2,267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% 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. Insiders sold 71,370 shares of company stock valued at $13,268,623 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.6%

WSM stock opened at $180.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $189.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.87. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $147.39 and a 12 month high of $222.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.28 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

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.