Cumberland Partners Ltd Decreases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Cumberland Partners Ltd cut its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 30.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,980 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,480 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 229.4% in the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $226.41 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.51 and a 12 month high of $244.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid 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 34.04%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.