Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Down 2.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) shares dropped 2.1% on Wednesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $315.00 to $300.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Williams-Sonoma traded as low as $279.18 and last traded at $282.55. Approximately 1,231,111 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 45% from the average daily volume of 849,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.53.

WSM has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $3,632,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $226,287,000 after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.37.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.