Ingalls & Snyder LLC Has $11.66 Million Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,360 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,794 shares during the quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC owned 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $11,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 51,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,121,000 after acquiring an additional 3,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 12.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,319 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,787,999.92. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $189.27 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $195.22 and its 200-day moving average is $176.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Argus set a $212.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.56.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.