Karalyn Yearout Sells 522 Shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.07, for a total transaction of $106,002.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,829 shares in the company, valued at $4,635,885.03. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Karalyn Yearout also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 8th, Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 5.6%

NYSE WSM opened at $218.62 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.20 and a 52 week high of $222.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $190.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $355,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,029,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,108,589 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $202,129,000 after buying an additional 561,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 16,951 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,091,000 after buying an additional 5,570 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays set a $190.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.06.

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.