Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. cut its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 162,531 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 192,076 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $31,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,991,697 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $978,864,000 after acquiring an additional 127,597 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,532,000 after purchasing an additional 407,929 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $283,686,000 after purchasing an additional 401,138 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $212,107,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 44.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,256,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $205,317,000 after purchasing an additional 389,548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have given 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 $202.11.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $210.85 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.07 and a 1-year high of $221.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.64.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 65,767 shares of company stock worth $12,802,440 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.