Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Raises Dividend to $1.13 Per Share

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of 1.13 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, May 24th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90.

Williams-Sonoma has raised its dividend by an average of 20.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 19 consecutive years. Williams-Sonoma has a dividend payout ratio of 28.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $16.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.1%.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE WSM opened at $288.60 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $319.78. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $263.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.31.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 229.8% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $38,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.