Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $190.00 to $240.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Williams-Sonoma traded as high as $254.82 and last traded at $253.8480, with a volume of 20833 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $250.82.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price target on the stock. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares in the company, valued at $161,998,627.64. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 38,156 shares of company stock worth $7,190,899 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,656,062,000. Aristotle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% in the first quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,031,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009,032 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $316,920,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $254,778,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $188,603,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $226.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

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.