Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Sells 36,312 Shares of Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Jeffrey Howie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 27th, Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE:WSM traded down $5.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $158.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,284,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,982,330. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $194.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.06. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSM. 111 Capital bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $557,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,138,000 after buying an additional 28,880 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,111,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.