Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 11,054 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 122.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,071 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 11,054 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,964,000 after buying an additional 87,642 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1,844.3% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 47,733 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $8,703,000 after buying an additional 45,278 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,473,000 after buying an additional 89,779 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 294,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,612,000 after acquiring an additional 56,578 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $228.50 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $210.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.34. The stock has a market cap of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.51 and a fifty-two week high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Argus set a $230.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,998,627.64. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.