Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,449 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at about $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 3,156 shares of company stock worth $738,699 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $248.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.11.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.3%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $234.74 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.51 and a twelve month high of $254.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $232.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.00. The company has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.50.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

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.