Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $234.89 and last traded at $235.1560, with a volume of 39911 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $226.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Argus set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $199.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.93. The company has a market cap of $28.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 55,320 shares of company stock worth $10,516,069 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 229.4% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.