Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Lowered to $174.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $201.00 to $174.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $158.39 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by 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.