Modera Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Modera Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 193,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 9,545 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $37,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupe la Francaise raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 3.6% in the third quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 25.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock worth $12,802,440. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.76.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $204.50 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.07 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $189.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.20. The company has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.58.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

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.