Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 687,656 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 62,988 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $122,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $205.88 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.20 and a 1 year high of $222.00. The company has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $185.58 and its 200 day moving average is $191.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, May 18th. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Zelman & Associates upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. The trade was a 3.99% 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 three months, insiders have sold 91,370 shares of company stock valued at $16,720,823. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.