Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 33.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,350 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,218 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,199,961,000 after purchasing an additional 147,780 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,440,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $435,840,000 after purchasing an additional 170,991 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $342,797,000 after purchasing an additional 130,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,661,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,703,000 after purchasing an additional 86,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. The trade was a 3.99% 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. Insiders have sold 55,320 shares of company stock valued at $10,516,069 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $239.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.51. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $161.63 and a one year high of $244.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $200.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.22.

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, 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 22.17%.

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.