Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $248.06.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the business’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 value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $226,287,000 after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $195,882,000 after buying an additional 23,918 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 785,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,426,000 after buying an additional 72,843 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $152,843,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 416,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $84,090,000 after acquiring an additional 11,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $280.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $319.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $270.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.02.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.02%.

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.