SFE Investment Counsel Acquires 3,393 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

SFE Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,133 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,393 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,199,961,000 after acquiring an additional 147,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $254,778,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $213,888,000 after acquiring an additional 263,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,014,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $181,213,000 after acquiring an additional 17,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of WSM opened at $171.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $147.39 and a 12 month high of $222.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $185.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. The trade was a 48.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% 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 71,370 shares of company stock valued at $13,268,623. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.