Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,755 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Williams-Sonoma worth $13,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 13.0% during the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 583 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.8% during the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WSM shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,787,999.92. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 114,153 shares of company stock valued at $22,901,008 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.2%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $178.00 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.07 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $191.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.