Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie Sells 36,312 Shares

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Jeffrey Howie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 27th, Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $2.02 on Monday, hitting $156.96. 759,303 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,120,767. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.82. The company has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, 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.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.93.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.