Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.66 Per Share

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 19th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.66 per share by the specialty retailer on Saturday, May 24th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a 15.8% increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57.

Williams-Sonoma has increased its dividend payment by an average of 20.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Williams-Sonoma has a payout ratio of 29.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $8.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.0%.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $145.13 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $177.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.75.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent 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.