Brokerages Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Price Target at $248.06

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

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $286.35 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $109.44 and a 1 year high of $319.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.39. The firm has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $226,287,000 after acquiring an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,918 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 785,457 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $249,406,000 after buying an additional 18,358 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 785,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,426,000 after buying an additional 72,843 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $152,843,000. 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.