Evercore ISI Trims Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Target Price to $300.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price cut by Evercore ISI from $315.00 to $300.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.1 %

WSM opened at $282.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $265.33 and a 200 day moving average of $211.40. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $109.44 and a 12 month high of $319.78. The firm has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,218,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,632,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $226,287,000 after acquiring an additional 18,004 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.