Vise Technologies Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,511 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,511 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7,675.0% during the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $182.09 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.36 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $194.34 and its 200-day moving average is $181.85.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,787,999.92. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock valued at $22,901,008. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.94.

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.