Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) PT Lowered to $145.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $158.00 to $145.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $350.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an outperform rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $340.00 to $170.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $138.77.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $130.61 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $65.23 and a one year high of $174.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.38 and a 200-day moving average of $141.52. The company has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.75.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.24 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total transaction of $6,258,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,551,066.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, insider Monica Bhargava sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.14, for a total transaction of $2,663,938.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total transaction of $6,258,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,956 shares in the company, valued at $167,551,066.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.