Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Raised to $123.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $116.00 to $123.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WSM stock traded up $0.95 on Thursday, reaching $173.44. 354,583 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,961,352. The stock has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.74. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $90.31 and a 1-year high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.