Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 20,886 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,479,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,886 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $269,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,920,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $254,778,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,117,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,506,000 after buying an additional 516,593 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4,142.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 478,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $93,439,000 after buying an additional 466,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 623.0% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 394,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $64,418,000 after buying an additional 339,771 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus set a $230.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.12.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $222.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.51 and a twelve month high of $244.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $213.74 and a 200 day moving average of $202.24.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 938,524 shares in the company, valued at $161,998,627.64. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283. 1.10% of the stock is owned by 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.