Jeffrey Howie Sells 1,419 Shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Key Points

• Jeffrey Howie, WSM's CFO, sold 1,419 shares on April 8 at an average price of $188.45 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his position by about 3.99% to 34,138 shares valued at roughly $6.43M (he also sold 32,684 shares on March 26).
• Company results and payout: Williams‑Sonoma beat quarterly EPS estimates ($3.04 vs. $2.90) despite a 4.3% revenue decline year-over-year, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 ($3.04 annual, ~1.6% yield), and carries an analyst consensus of a "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total value of $267,410.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,433,306.10. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Jeffrey Howie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 26th, Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $2.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $189.20. 794,362 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,184,882. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.44 and a 1 year high of $222.00. The company has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.58. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $196.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.18.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. State Street Corp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,199,961,000 after buying an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,440,452 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $435,840,000 after acquiring an additional 170,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $342,797,000 after acquiring an additional 130,940 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,661,365 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $296,703,000 after purchasing an additional 86,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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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