Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives $248.06 Average Target Price from Analysts

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $248.06.

WSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 21st.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $152,843,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 53.2% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 404,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,903,000 after purchasing an additional 140,551 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4,101.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 138,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,846,000 after purchasing an additional 134,719 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $40,060,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 638.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 142,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,129,000 after purchasing an additional 123,114 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $282.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $275.21 and a 200-day moving average of $218.13. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $109.44 and a fifty-two week high of $319.78.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

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.