Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price Down 0.9%

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) shares fell 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $315.74 and last traded at $317.50. 101,115 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 970,329 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.13.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $294.16 and a 200-day moving average of $231.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gleason Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the first quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 8,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.