Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.66 on August 22nd

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of 0.66 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th.

Williams-Sonoma has a dividend payout ratio of 29.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $8.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.0%.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:WSM opened at $153.93 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $156.83 and its 200-day moving average is $177.63. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,227 shares of company stock worth $18,520,913 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,644,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $182.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.06.

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.