Foster & Motley Inc. Has $1.41 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Foster & Motley Inc. lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 26.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,853 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 88,451 shares of company stock valued at $16,980,845 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $182.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.84. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.07 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change 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 29.83%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.