Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,429 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 130.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1,236.8% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $175.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $202.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,497.76. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total value of $7,258,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 65,767 shares of company stock worth $12,802,440 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $217.12 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $197.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.67. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.07 and a 1 year high of $221.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.