Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $181.60 and last traded at $180.47, with a volume of 737765 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $23.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.91.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 83,160 shares of company stock worth $11,590,952. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 4,901 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,966,000 after buying an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,837,000 after buying an additional 21,200 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently 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.