UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Grows Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 34.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 365,718 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $227,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after buying an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $85,075,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,081,000 after buying an additional 475,484 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,444,000 after buying an additional 450,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $41,793,000 after buying an additional 262,710 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.4%

WSM stock opened at $203.41 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $24.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $190.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.82.

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, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total value of $3,563,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,066,816. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,500 shares of company stock valued at $9,284,240 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.11.

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.