Entropy Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 9,311 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,471,152,000 after buying an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $227,164,000 after purchasing an additional 365,718 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $170,267,000 after purchasing an additional 254,550 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 8.0% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 816,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,029,000 after buying an additional 60,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,664,000 after buying an additional 521,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,787,999.92. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.2%

NYSE WSM opened at $178.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $191.90 and its 200-day moving average is $182.78. The company 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.07 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.00.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.