Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $172.28, but opened at $157.80. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $154.22, with a volume of 1,143,900 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $197.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.60. The company has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.