Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Raised to $165.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush lowered Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $172.95 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $143.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.74. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $89.87 and a 1-year high of $181.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 173,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,897,000 after buying an additional 88,936 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 110.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,932,000 after buying an additional 128,523 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.