Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $176.75.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $158.83 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $157.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,227 shares of company stock worth $18,520,913 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $170,267,000 after purchasing an additional 254,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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