Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Raised to $195.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target raised by Evercore ISI from $190.00 to $195.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

WSM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.71.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WSM opened at $189.25 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.82. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $130.07 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 12,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.07, for a total value of $2,201,992.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 846,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,353,071.89. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at $254,778,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at $212,107,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 184.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 861,236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $167,927,000 after purchasing an additional 558,311 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after buying an additional 532,995 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,664,000 after buying an additional 521,283 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by 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.