Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) PT Raised to $144.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $127.00 to $144.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $154.31.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.7 %

WSM stock opened at $181.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $182.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.10.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The specialty retailer reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 61.68% and a net margin of 11.99%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 13.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 20th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 19th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 1,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $271,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 563,698 shares in the company, valued at $84,554,700. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 1,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $271,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 563,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,554,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,238 shares in the company, valued at $7,630,201.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 130,000 shares of company stock worth $19,496,290. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 229.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.