Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 27.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 127,370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 48,430 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $20,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,066,816. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,500 shares of company stock valued at $9,284,240 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $202.60 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.76. The company has a market cap of $24.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.52.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.11.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.