ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys 680 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $227,164,000 after purchasing an additional 365,718 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $170,267,000 after purchasing an additional 254,550 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,664,000 after purchasing an additional 521,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $85,075,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $200.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $199.29 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $197.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,066,816. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total value of $18,015,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares in the company, valued at $175,534,477.59. This trade represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 144,153 shares of company stock worth $27,946,408. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.