Royal Bank of Canada Raises Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $300.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $295.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

WSM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Williams-Sonoma from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $259.94.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $287.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $300.01 and a 200-day moving average of $238.84. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $348.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $18,552,819. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors 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.