Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $198.95 and last traded at $197.66, with a volume of 960159 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $194.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.78.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $22.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.03.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.1% in the second quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $26,000. 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.