Laura Alber Sells 30,000 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 21st, Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $158.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.54.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

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.