Brokerages Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) PT at $258.38

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $259.94.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.1 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $287.78 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $348.51. The stock has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $300.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.22.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 13.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.53, for a total transaction of $6,370,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 555,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,959,341.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,145 shares of company stock worth $18,552,819. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 81.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 403.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,045 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 9,651 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 164.0% during the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,966,000 after purchasing an additional 7,760 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4,136.7% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $229,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.