Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC Purchases Shares of 5,269 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 5,269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $961,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. State Street Corp lifted 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 worth $1,199,961,000 after buying an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,440,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $435,840,000 after acquiring an additional 170,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the 4th 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 valued at $342,797,000 after acquiring an additional 130,940 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,661,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,703,000 after purchasing an additional 86,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.65.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $228.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $210.86 and its 200 day moving average is $201.34. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.51 and a fifty-two week high of $244.65.

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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,998,627.64. The trade was a 2.09% 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, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma 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.