Analysts Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) PT at $178.41

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $180.1765.

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,170 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,306 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 470.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 3,474 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.2%

WSM stock opened at $203.04 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $176.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.30. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

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.