Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) CFO Sells $5,904,037.76 in Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $176.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.95. The firm has a market cap of $21.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.64. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.07 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore set a $215.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after buying an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,440,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $435,840,000 after acquiring an additional 170,991 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $342,797,000 after acquiring an additional 130,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,532,000 after purchasing an additional 407,929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.