Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) PT Raised to $290.00 at Morgan Stanley

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $270.00 to $290.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty retailer's stock.

WSM has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $259.94.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE WSM traded up $4.63 on Thursday, reaching $284.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,943,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,533. The stock's 50 day moving average is $299.92 and its 200-day moving average is $237.28. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $348.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.53, for a total value of $6,370,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 555,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,959,341.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,145 shares of company stock worth $18,552,819 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 8,969 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 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.