Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Hold Rating for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)

Needham & Company LLC reissued their hold rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a sell rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams-Sonoma from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price target for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Three 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $259.94.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.7 %

WSM stock traded up $4.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $284.56. 1,943,947 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,025,533. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.28. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $348.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The business's revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.13 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 505,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,145 shares of company stock worth $18,552,819. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 8,969 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.9% in the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.