Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Lowered to $175.00 at Evercore ISI

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Evercore ISI from $180.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the specialty retailer's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on WSM. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.60.

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Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $26.02 on Tuesday, hitting $138.99. The stock had a trading volume of 5,651,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,998,858. The company's 50 day moving average price is $191.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.01. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in 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 buying an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $290,121,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is 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.