Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 93.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,501 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 107,313 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $228.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.96. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.51 and a fifty-two week high of $244.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, July 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus set a $230.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,998,627.64. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.