Brokerages Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Target Price at $209.06

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $206.3750.

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zelman & Associates raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.45, for a total transaction of $267,410.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,433,306.10. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $3,452,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares in the company, valued at $161,998,627.64. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,370 shares of company stock valued at $16,720,823. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $171.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $184.02 and a 200 day moving average of $191.83. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $147.39 and a 12 month high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.83%.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.