Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,387 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,227 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after acquiring an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $254,778,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,888,000 after acquiring an additional 263,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,014,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $181,213,000 after acquiring an additional 17,229 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,370 shares of company stock valued at $16,720,823. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, May 18th. Zelman & Associates raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.94.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $198.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $184.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.67. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $152.20 and a one year high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.83% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.56%.

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.