Brokerages Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Price Target at $141.17

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $141.17.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $13,563,526 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 64,062 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,927,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $242,000. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $1,173,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $739,000. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 172.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 66,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,357,000 after purchasing an additional 41,894 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $152.78 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.06. The stock has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $71.56 and a 52-week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 28.01%.

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.