Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Decreases Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,685 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $9,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $1,644,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.76.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $204.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $189.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.20. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.07 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,267,708.43. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.