Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 21st, Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $158.75 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $193.93 and its 200-day moving average is $173.24. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,079,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.