Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at Wedbush

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price decreased by Wedbush from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. Wedbush currently has a neutral rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.13.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $165.29 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $197.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.83. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,641,000 after acquiring an additional 12,061 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,837,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.