Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Declares Dividend Increase - $0.66 Per Share

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 19th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.66 per share by the specialty retailer on Saturday, May 24th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a 15.8% increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57.

Williams-Sonoma has increased its dividend by an average of 20.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 20 consecutive years. Williams-Sonoma has a payout ratio of 28.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $8.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.0%.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $1.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $163.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,888,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,915,851. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $197.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.60.

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Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.