Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Hits New 52-Week High at $321.47

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $321.47 and last traded at $320.53, with a volume of 57141 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $318.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $287.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.33. The stock has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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