Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 53.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,604 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,293 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in 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 period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams-Sonoma this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Telsey raises price target: Telsey Advisory Group increased its target from $225 to $255 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying additional upside and reflecting confidence in Williams-Sonoma’s earnings outlook. Telsey price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs issues a Buy rating: The bullish recommendation provides additional institutional support for WSM and suggests analysts see longer-term value in the specialty home-furnishings retailer. Goldman Sachs Buy article
• Positive Sentiment: New 12-month high: Williams-Sonoma recently reached a fresh yearly high following an analyst upgrade, indicating strong momentum and investor interest. Williams-Sonoma 12-month high article
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst views: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $240 but assigned a “hold” rating, contrasting with Telsey and Goldman Sachs and signaling limited conviction at current valuation levels. Wells Fargo price target article
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro data remains a focus: Investors are watching the CPI report for signals on inflation, interest rates and household purchasing power—factors that could affect demand for discretionary home goods. CPI outlook article
• Negative Sentiment: Former executive pleads guilty: A former Williams-Sonoma executive admitted involvement in a $16 million warehouse kickback scheme. Although the conduct is attributed to a former employee, the case could raise concerns about past controls, governance and reputational risk. Warehouse kickback scheme article
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking risk: Recent weakness followed a strong advance, while WSM’s above-market valuation may make investors more cautious when broader markets rise but the stock underperforms.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WSM shares. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Argus set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.88.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $242.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.34. The company has a market cap of $28.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $254.89.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 34.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,156 shares of company stock worth $3,738,699. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.