Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives $248.06 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $248.06.

WSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.3 %

WSM opened at $281.70 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $274.09 and its 200-day moving average is $216.87. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $319.78. The company has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

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.