CIBC Asset Management Inc Has $5.16 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 80.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,871 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $443,566,000 after purchasing an additional 532,995 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $316,920,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $254,778,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,888,000 after purchasing an additional 263,027 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Argus set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.5%

WSM stock opened at $205.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $188.39 and a 200-day moving average of $192.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.20 and a 12 month high of $222.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.51.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.56%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.