AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Lowers Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,344 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs’ holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 193.3% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 293,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,997,000 after purchasing an additional 12,710 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 53,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 124.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,032 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at $20,066,816. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $189.27 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.10. The company has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Argus set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.56.

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.