Morgan Stanley Boosts Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $290.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $270.00 to $290.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

WSM has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Loop Capital increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $259.94.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $287.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $348.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $300.01 and a 200-day moving average of $239.46.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 13.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety 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.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st 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 acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $32,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $45,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.