Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Stock Holdings Lessened by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 41.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,009 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $212,107,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,664,000 after buying an additional 521,283 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,444,000 after buying an additional 450,723 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,532,000 after acquiring an additional 407,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $283,686,000 after acquiring an additional 401,138 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WSM shares. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.71.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.6%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $187.97 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.07 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.77.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 17,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.51, for a total transaction of $3,184,439.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 859,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,355,798.88. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.