Karalyn Yearout Sells 8,000 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.0 %

WSM opened at $147.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.66. The stock has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $87,148,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.