Vest Financial LLC Purchases 80,044 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 282,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 80,044 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $55,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,205,000 after acquiring an additional 4,510 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 153.7% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,016,000 after buying an additional 7,439 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after buying an additional 8,592 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1,705.3% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 118,371 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $19,338,000 after acquiring an additional 111,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 816,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,029,000 after acquiring an additional 60,163 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at $167,267,708.43. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $205.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.58. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.07 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.65.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $175.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.76.

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.