Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Sells $6,020,166.48 in Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Jeffrey Howie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 27th, Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM traded down $5.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $158.75. 2,284,175 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,982,330. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.06. The stock has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.