Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 18th

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of 1.13 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, May 24th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90.

Williams-Sonoma has raised its dividend payment by an average of 20.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 19 consecutive years. Williams-Sonoma has a payout ratio of 28.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $16.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.1%.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1 %

WSM opened at $288.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $263.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.51. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The firm has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Delphia USA Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Pitcairn Co. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $206,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.