Boston Trust Walden Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 231,277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 46,108 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $42,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSM. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,438 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 3,564 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE WSM opened at $227.20 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $202.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.66. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.76 and a 12-month high of $244.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,320 shares of company stock valued at $10,516,069. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus set a $230.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.47.

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.