Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $295.00 to $300.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

WSM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com lowered Williams-Sonoma from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $259.94.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $287.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $109.44 and a fifty-two week high of $348.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $300.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.46.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 13.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $18,552,819 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $226,287,000 after buying an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,918 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 785,457 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $249,406,000 after purchasing an additional 18,358 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 785,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,426,000 after purchasing an additional 72,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $152,843,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.