Evercore ISI Cuts Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $300.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target lowered by Evercore ISI from $315.00 to $300.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an in-line rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their target price for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $279.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $268.14 and a 200-day moving average of $212.37. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $319.78. The company has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $152,843,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,497,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,715,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,292,000 after acquiring an additional 273,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,782,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.