Karalyn Yearout Sells 1,112 Shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Karalyn Yearout also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 8th, Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.07, for a total transaction of $106,002.54.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $221.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.51. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.11 and a 52 week high of $234.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $194.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.56%.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,195 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,058,000 after buying an additional 3,978 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $355,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $1,029,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 102.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,108,589 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $202,129,000 after buying an additional 561,977 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays set a $190.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.