Raiffeisen Bank International AG Buys 5,081 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 319.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,081 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 11,574 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 13.2% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 19,453 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,534,000 after buying an additional 1,969 shares during the period. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth $490,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $275.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $247.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.56.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:WSM opened at $227.12 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.51 and a 12 month high of $254.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $232.55 and its 200 day moving average is $208.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.73% and a return on equity of 53.48%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,156 shares of company stock worth $738,699. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.