Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Cut to $185.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.13.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.6 %

WSM opened at $165.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $197.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.83. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 239.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 106.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,694 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,142,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,454 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,718,000 after buying an additional 14,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,837,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.