Advisors Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,481 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.21% of Williams-Sonoma worth $44,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 958,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,704,800. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total transaction of $267,410.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,433,306.10. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,370 shares of company stock worth $13,268,623. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $190.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $192.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.00. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $147.39 and a 1-year high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.