Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.93.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. 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, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade 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 accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after buying an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,148,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:WSM traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,802,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,615. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $179.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.66. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

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.