Danske Bank A S Acquires Shares of 46,002 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 46,002 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,723,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1,844.3% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 47,733 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $8,703,000 after buying an additional 45,278 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $801,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 87,642 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $1,173,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised 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 acquiring an additional 56,578 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $237.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $232.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.75. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $254.89.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total value of $128,615.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,975,846.05. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 18,156 shares of company stock valued at $3,738,699 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $192.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore set a $240.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.88.

Williams-Sonoma 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.