Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Marta Benson Sells 2,184 Shares

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.1 %

WSM stock traded up $3.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $317.53. 846,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,694,396. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $241.91 and its 200 day moving average is $197.67. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $319.70. The firm has a market cap of $20.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.66.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 24.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.31.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.