Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Up to $130.33

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $130.33, but opened at $133.49. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $131.58, with a volume of 279,384 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $137.50 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.50.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.99. The stock has a market cap of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $6,258,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,070,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,551,066.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 value of $6,258,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,070,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,551,066.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $152,843,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after buying an additional 214,669 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth about $58,213,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $223,833,000 after buying an additional 192,432 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.