Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,232 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $227,164,000 after acquiring an additional 365,718 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $170,267,000 after acquiring an additional 254,550 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 816,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $133,029,000 after acquiring an additional 60,163 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,664,000 after acquiring an additional 521,283 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WSM opened at $189.27 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $195.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.10. The stock has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSM. Argus set a $212.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,066,816. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.