Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) EVP Sells 522 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Williams-Sonoma EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares on June 8 at an average price of $203.07, totaling about $106,003. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, and she now directly owns 22,829 shares.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.93 versus the $1.80 consensus and revenue of $1.81 billion, up 4.4% year over year. Williams-Sonoma also posted strong profitability metrics, including a 13.81% net margin and 53.29% return on equity.
• Williams-Sonoma raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.66, bringing the annualized payout to $3.04 and a yield of 1.5%. Analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.07, for a total value of $106,002.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,635,885.03. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Karalyn Yearout also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 8th, Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $5.60 on Wednesday, reaching $207.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,062,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,515. The company has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.51. The business's fifty day moving average price is $190.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.22. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.20 and a twelve month high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,029,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 102.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,108,589 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $202,129,000 after acquiring an additional 561,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 48.9% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 16,951 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,091,000 after acquiring an additional 5,570 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.

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