Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Up to $288.85

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $288.85, but opened at $298.10. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $295.73, with a volume of 81,247 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WSM shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $265.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.40. The stock has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.