Blackhill Capital Inc. Sells 12,535 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Blackhill Capital Inc. lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,689,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 12,535 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for about 70.7% of Blackhill Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Blackhill Capital Inc. owned about 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $1,373,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,964,000 after purchasing an additional 87,642 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,473,000 after purchasing an additional 89,779 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,605,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 532,995 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 294,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,612,000 after purchasing an additional 56,578 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.07, for a total transaction of $106,002.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,635,885.03. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,892 shares of company stock worth $19,826,826. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. 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. Argus set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $223.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.51. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.20 and a 12-month high of $224.33.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.37 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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.