Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.53, for a total transaction of $6,370,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 555,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,959,341.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Friday, March 15th, Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $3.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $309.31. 855,140 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,931. The company's 50 day moving average price is $295.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.07. The company has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.44 and a 12 month high of $322.04.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 31.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 56.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 28,859 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,485,000 after buying an additional 10,450 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 110.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,488 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,447,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 26.5% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.4% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 20,207 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,140,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth approximately $525,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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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