Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) CFO Sells $267,410.55 in Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,433,306.10. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Jeffrey Howie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 26th, Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $189.20 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.58. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.44 and a 1 year high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $215.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.56.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after acquiring an additional 147,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,440,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $435,840,000 after acquiring an additional 170,991 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $342,797,000 after acquiring an additional 130,940 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,661,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $296,703,000 after acquiring an additional 86,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.