Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) EVP Karalyn Yearout Sells 8,000 Shares

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $147.95 on Friday. The firm 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $179.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.66.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,251,000 after acquiring an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $97,875,000 after purchasing an additional 172,409 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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, April 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.93.

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.