Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber Sells 30,000 Shares

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Thursday, March 27th, Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $160.10. The company had a trading volume of 610,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,695. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The business's 50 day moving average price is $155.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.96.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 63.1% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,283 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,310,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $903,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 105.9% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 15,366 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904 shares in the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,162,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $227,164,000 after purchasing an additional 365,718 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. KeyCorp upgraded 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.06.

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.