Metis Global Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Metis Global Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,695 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after buying an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $85,075,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,664,000 after purchasing an additional 521,283 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,081,000 after purchasing an additional 475,484 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,444,000 after purchasing an additional 450,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE WSM opened at $191.26 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.37 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $23.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $195.08 and its 200 day moving average is $181.54.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.39.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.