Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives $262.13 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $131.06.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $73.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $97.50 to $127.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $157.50 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $153.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.08. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $62.11 and a 12-month high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 13.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.75%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.27, for a total value of $6,370,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,111,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,959,341.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Monica Bhargava sold 17,862 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.14, for a total value of $2,663,938.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.27, for a total transaction of $6,370,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,111,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,959,341.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 77,862 shares of company stock worth $11,913,039. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 64,062 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,927,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $4,102,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 425.3% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,751,000 after purchasing an additional 63,200 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.