Williams-Sonoma shares jump as investors position for earnings and shareholder-return updates

Williams-Sonoma (WSM) is up 4.9% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The most likely driver is investor positioning ahead of Williams-Sonoma’s scheduled fourth-quarter and fiscal-year results release and related conference call. This could be because traders are anticipating another quarter of resilient demand, strong profitability, and potential capital-return actions (dividends/buybacks) following the company’s recent margin strength.

Details:

Williams-Sonoma previously announced it would release fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025 results today (March 18, 2026) before the market opens, followed by a management webcast.

In its most recently reported quarter, the company posted year-over-year EPS growth alongside positive comparable brand revenue growth, signaling continued operating discipline.

Management also raised its full-year operating margin outlook in that prior update, which can lead investors to expect better-than-feared profitability into year-end results.

The board authorized an additional $1 billion share repurchase program in the prior quarter, which can support the stock if buybacks continue or guidance remains constructive.

Sources:

Williams-Sonoma Investor Relations, Barchart, StockTitan

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$WSM Insider Trading Activity

$WSM insiders have traded $WSM stock on the open market 16 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 16 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $WSM stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

LAURA ALBER (PRESIDENT & CEO) has made 0 purchases and 10 sales selling 65,000 shares for an estimated $12,645,004.
KARALYN YEAROUT (EVP CHIEF TALENT OFFICER) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 4,267 shares for an estimated $853,122.
JEFFREY HOWIE (EVP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 3,153 shares for an estimated $626,950.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$WSM Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 396 institutional investors add shares of $WSM stock to their portfolio, and 525 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 5,234,638 shares (-73.2%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $934,854,000
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO removed 740,395 shares (-60.6%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $132,227,143
VICTORY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC added 516,593 shares (+86.0%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $92,258,343
NORGES BANK added 476,248 shares (+36.7%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $85,053,130
D. E. SHAW & CO., INC. removed 468,429 shares (-25.1%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $83,656,735
VANGUARD GROUP INC removed 433,128 shares (-2.8%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $77,352,329
UBS GROUP AG removed 405,692 shares (-37.1%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $72,452,534

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$WSM Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $WSM in the last several months. We have seen 3 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

TD Cowen issued a "Buy" rating on 01/20/2026
RBC Capital issued a "Outperform" rating on 11/21/2025
Telsey Advisory Group issued a "Outperform" rating on 11/20/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $WSM, check out Quiver Quantitative's $WSM forecast page.

$WSM Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $WSM recently. We have seen 8 analysts offer price targets for $WSM in the last 6 months, with a median target of $207.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Cristina Fernandez from Telsey Advisory Group set a target price of $220.0 on 03/12/2026
Michael Lasser from UBS set a target price of $185.0 on 03/11/2026
Steven Zaccone from Citigroup set a target price of $208.0 on 03/06/2026
Oliver Wintermantel from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $215.0 on 02/10/2026
An analyst from Zelman & Assoc set a target price of $205.0 on 01/29/2026
Max Rakhlenko from TD Cowen set a target price of $245.0 on 01/20/2026
Steven Shemesh from RBC Capital set a target price of $206.0 on 11/21/2025

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.