Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Reaches New 1-Year High at $348.51

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $348.51 and last traded at $337.42, with a volume of 292159 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $314.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.38.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 7.0 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $300.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.64. The company has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.53, for a total transaction of $6,370,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 555,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,959,341.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.53, for a total transaction of $6,370,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 555,550 shares in the company, valued at $176,959,341.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $18,552,819 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $226,287,000 after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $195,882,000 after buying an additional 23,918 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 785,457 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $249,406,000 after buying an additional 18,358 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 785,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,426,000 after purchasing an additional 72,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $152,843,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.