Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $262.13.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.53, for a total value of $6,370,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 555,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,959,341.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,076 shares of company stock worth $18,420,458. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $220,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 64,062 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,927,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $4,102,000. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $301.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $252.54. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $117.89 and a 1-year high of $348.51. The stock has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma shares are scheduled to split before the market opens on Tuesday, July 9th. The 2-1 split was announced on Tuesday, July 9th. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, July 9th.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $1.29. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.75%.

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.