JLB & Associates Inc. Buys New Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

JLB & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 25,360 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,911,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 3,564 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $192.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.88.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total transaction of $128,615.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $4,975,846.05. This represents a 2.52% 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 sold a total of 18,156 shares of company stock valued at $3,738,699 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $241.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $231.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.07. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $165.51 and a one year high of $254.89.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 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.