Evercore ISI Trims Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Target Price to $300.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Evercore ISI from $315.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the specialty retailer's stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of WSM traded down $5.98 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $282.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,231,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,043,595. The company's 50-day moving average is $265.33 and its 200-day moving average is $211.40. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.71%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.9% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 46,227 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,915,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.7% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 14,762 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.3% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,118 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $56,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,415.9% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,092 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $292,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.