Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price Up 2.3%

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s stock price traded up 2.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $312.69 and last traded at $312.08. 140,684 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 981,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $304.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSM. Barclays raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.5 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $286.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.69. The stock has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.13 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $152,843,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4,101.0% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 138,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,846,000 after buying an additional 134,719 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,060,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 638.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 142,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,129,000 after acquiring an additional 123,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,861 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $60,118,000 after purchasing an additional 109,533 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.