Laura Alber Sells 15,000 Shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 958,524 shares in the company, valued at $191,704,800. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 16th, Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $197.33 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.98 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $192.79 and its 200 day moving average is $193.02.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.19 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 156.1% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 322,583 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,817,000 after purchasing an additional 196,642 shares in the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $264,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,112,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 622 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.56.

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.