Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) CFO Sells 3,153 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Williams-Sonoma CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the company's stock for a total of $626,942.52, resulting in an 8.46% decrease in his ownership.
• The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and indicating a 2.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Williams-Sonoma has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.3% for investors.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Jeffrey Howie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 1st, Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.8%

WSM stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $198.08. 2,628,643 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,257,924. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $193.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.97. The firm has a market cap of $24.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.52.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.04%.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 130.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus set a $212.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.11.

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.