Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 41.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 583 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $197.12 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $194.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.71. The stock has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.37 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

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 return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total transaction of $18,015,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $175,534,477.59. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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.