Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
Williams-Sonoma Price Performance
NYSE:WSM opened at $148.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $180.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.67. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.
Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.93.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Williams-Sonoma
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,390 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 12,237 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 51.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,416 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,233,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 48.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.
Williams-Sonoma Company Profile
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Get Free Report)
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.
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