Royce & Associates LP Has $1.89 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Royce & Associates LP decreased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 43.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,605 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 8,209 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 25.1% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 274 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,438 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,370 shares of company stock valued at $19,720,823. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $203.89 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.20 and a twelve month high of $222.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.90.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays set a $190.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Argus set a $230.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore set a $200.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.06.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.