Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases 1,512 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 56.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the first 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $85,075,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,664,000 after purchasing an additional 521,283 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,081,000 after purchasing an additional 475,484 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,444,000 after purchasing an additional 450,723 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total value of $18,015,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 876,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,534,477.59. This trade represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,066,816. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.56.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $198.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.68 and its 200-day moving average is $179.95. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.