Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,423 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $798,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1,844.3% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 47,733 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,703,000 after buying an additional 45,278 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $801,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,964,000 after acquiring an additional 87,642 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,173,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 294,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,612,000 after acquiring an additional 56,578 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Argus set a $230.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, July 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.11.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $238.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $28.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $232.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.87. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.51 and a 52-week high of $254.89.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,156 shares of company stock worth $3,738,699 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.