Corebridge Financial Inc. Lowers Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 143,799 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 9,172 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.12% of Williams-Sonoma worth $26,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,142,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,454 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,816 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 942 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 136.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 9,801 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,481 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,173,000 after purchasing an additional 10,441 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM traded down $1.20 on Tuesday, hitting $169.10. 1,902,362 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,917,607. The firm has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $196.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.90. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.