Renasant Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Renasant Bank reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 11.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,644 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 353 shares during the quarter. Renasant Bank’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.9% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 113,484 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $18,540,000 after buying an additional 5,251 shares in the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $237,000. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 58,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,541,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 165.5% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 236,511 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,639,000 after purchasing an additional 147,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 252.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 354,607 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $57,932,000 after purchasing an additional 253,968 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $191.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.54. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.37 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.39.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.