Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Down to $143.85

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $143.85, but opened at $132.49. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $132.01, with a volume of 680,432 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $340.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $350.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.77.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 8.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.60.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.65. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, insider Monica Bhargava sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.14, for a total value of $2,663,938.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.93, for a total value of $2,878,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 101,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,539,879.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,862 shares of company stock worth $11,800,439 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 153,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,341,000 after purchasing an additional 6,945 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth $303,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 35.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 91.9% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.