39,874 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Acquired by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 39,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $9,295,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $260.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total value of $128,615.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,975,846.05. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 3,156 shares of company stock valued at $738,699 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of WSM opened at $228.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.51 and a 12 month high of $254.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.48% and a net margin of 14.73%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 31.12%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.