Cibc World Market Inc. Sells 5,931 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Cibc World Market Inc. decreased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,532 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,931 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.9% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,510 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 14,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,852,000 after buying an additional 4,961 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $194,947,000 after buying an additional 231,489 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,961,000 after acquiring an additional 8,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 153.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 7,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Evercore boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $175.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at $167,267,708.43. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $214.29 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $199.30 and a 200 day moving average of $195.12. 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 $25.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Williams-Sonoma’s 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.