Winmill & CO. Inc. Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Winmill & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 111,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $25,874,000. Williams-Sonoma comprises about 5.7% of Winmill & CO. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $227,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total transaction of $128,615.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,975,846.05. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% 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. Insiders have sold 18,156 shares of company stock worth $3,738,699 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $248.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Bank of America started coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, June 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.88.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WSM opened at $237.34 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $232.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $254.89.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.