Copeland Capital Management LLC Invests $180,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,099 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $180,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at about $1,423,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group set a $200.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $199.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.48.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at $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 144,153 shares of company stock valued at $27,946,408 in the last 90 days. 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.