Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 22nd, 2023

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) by 34.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,443 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,009 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,899 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,438,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 95,107 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after buying an additional 5,680 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,903,000. Intersect Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. Intersect Capital LLC now owns 3,872 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 159.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.49% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $123.22 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.62. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.58 and a 1 year high of $176.89.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 16th. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 80.17% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.26 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 20th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 19.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut Williams-Sonoma from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 28th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $114.00 to $108.00 in a report on Friday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $109.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $151.00 to $143.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.47.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

(Get Rating)

Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.