Genus Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Genus Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 372.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,960 shares during the period. Genus Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7,675.0% in the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total transaction of $18,015,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 876,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,534,477.59. This trade represents a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $198.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $194.68 and its 200 day moving average is $179.95. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.