Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Down 0.1%

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $317.47 and last traded at $318.04. 113,140 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 978,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $289.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.44. The company has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The company's revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.02%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.