Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $275,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 39.4% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 11.7% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,270 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $286.35 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $276.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.39. The stock has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.