Brokerages Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) PT at $177.06

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $177.06.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,227 shares of company stock worth $12,962,573 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,471,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,562 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $290,121,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% during 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 buying an additional 365,718 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $170,267,000 after acquiring an additional 254,550 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WSM stock traded down $0.13 on Wednesday, hitting $164.38. 1,978,405 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,036,978. The firm's 50 day moving average is $156.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.89. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

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.