Prudential PLC Raises Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,097 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $9,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,731 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,158,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 43,198 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,715,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,371,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total value of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $205.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $188.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.20 and a 12-month high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

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.