Twin Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Twin Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,426 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 11,772 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake 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 worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $1,644,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zelman & Associates raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,267,708.43. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,497.76. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock worth $12,802,440. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $220.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $195.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.98. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.07 and a twelve month high of $221.81.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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, February 20th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

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.