First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $507,000 Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,596 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 8,277 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 130.8% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WSM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $175.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $208.44 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.07 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $24.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $190.35 and its 200-day moving average is $191.91.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.