Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $7.06 Million Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,114 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 34,939 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 25.1% during the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 274 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 12,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $175.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.11.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $210.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $201.61 and a 200-day moving average of $195.75. The company has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.64. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.07 and a 52 week high of $221.81.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be 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 is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total value of $7,258,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.