Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) CEO Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

18 May 2026, 19:13 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Free Report) CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 938,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

On Friday, April 17th, Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00.
On Monday, March 16th, Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded up $0.37 on Monday, reaching $169.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,372,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,151,516. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.39 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00. The stock has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $184.81 and its 200 day moving average is $192.21.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.38.

Read Our Latest Report on WSM

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.