Analysts Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) PT at $213.12

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $215.4706.

Several equities analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 22nd.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $228.89 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $221.01 and its 200 day moving average is $203.94. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.50. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $165.51 and a 52-week high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,998,627.64. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aristotle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,031,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009,032 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,199,961,000 after buying an additional 147,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,664,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,833,000 after buying an additional 224,128 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the fourth 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 worth $342,797,000 after buying an additional 130,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,920,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.