Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 852 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,679 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 852 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Maseco LLP bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 7,675.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE:WSM opened at $182.09 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.36 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.05.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total value of $18,015,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $175,534,477.59. The trade was a 9.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus set a $212.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.94.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.