abrdn plc Buys 179,819 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 350,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 179,819 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $53,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% during the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 173,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,897,000 after acquiring an additional 88,936 shares during the last quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 11,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares in the last quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 95.1% in the third quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,950,000 after purchasing an additional 21,870 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of WSM opened at $132.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.92 and a 12-month high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.