Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price Up 4.5% - Here's Why

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) was up 4.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $150.56 and last traded at $145.17. Approximately 3,732,209 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 86% from the average daily volume of 2,006,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.93.

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Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $183.80 and a 200-day moving average of $173.77.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Czech National Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $4,470,000. Kaizen Financial Strategies acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $329,000. Fulcrum Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $41,793,000 after purchasing an additional 262,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 25.2% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 512 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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.