Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.66 (NYSE:WSM)

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.66 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%.

Williams-Sonoma has a payout ratio of 29.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $8.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.0%.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $154.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,157,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,004,837. The firm has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $156.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.93. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Zelman & Associates started coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.06.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,644,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.