Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 4,500 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 77.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,283 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,199,961,000 after buying an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,532,000 after acquiring an additional 407,929 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $254,778,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,107,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the firm’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 value of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 55,767 shares of company stock worth $11,076,808 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $180.25 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.07 and a 52 week high of $222.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $201.52 and its 200-day moving average is $194.45.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

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.