Laura Alber Sells 30,000 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 29th, Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $5.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $170.32. 1,345,993 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,960,817. The company has a market cap of $20.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.45. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock's 50-day moving average is $164.40 and its 200-day moving average is $174.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Zelman & Associates started coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.75.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.

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