Cumberland Partners Ltd Has $4.37 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Cumberland Partners Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,460 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 14,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,852,000 after acquiring an additional 4,961 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 30.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $194,947,000 after acquiring an additional 231,489 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,473,000 after acquiring an additional 89,779 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,964,000 after acquiring an additional 87,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 91,370 shares of company stock worth $16,720,823. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams-Sonoma this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Williams-Sonoma posted adjusted EPS of $1.93, topping consensus of $1.80, and revenue of $1.81 billion, slightly ahead of estimates, signaling strong execution in a still-challenging home retail backdrop. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Comparable brand revenue rose 4.8%, with growth across all four major brands, including standout performance from West Elm and Pottery Barn, showing broad-based demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted disciplined cost control, resilient margins, and strong shareholder returns, including $288 million in buybacks and $85 million in dividends during the quarter. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management reiterated full-year comparable sales guidance of 2% to 6%, suggesting confidence in the business but also acknowledging ongoing uncertainty around tariffs and fuel costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The company warned that tariffs and fuel-price volatility could pressure future margins and create headwinds even as current quarter results remained strong. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.94.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $192.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.20 and a 1-year high of $222.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $184.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 51.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.56%.

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.