Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber Sells 20,000 Shares

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, April 17th, Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00.
• On Monday, March 16th, Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WSM traded up $0.37 on Monday, hitting $169.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,372,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,151,516. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $184.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.21. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.39 and a 52 week high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 14,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,961 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $194,947,000 after purchasing an additional 231,489 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,473,000 after purchasing an additional 89,779 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 282,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $55,215,000 after purchasing an additional 80,044 shares during the period. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 18.2% in the third quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 130,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,408,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.