Brokerages Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Price Target at $172.34

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $172.34.

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $213.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $200.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.34. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $108.74 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Alpha Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $216,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,501,000 after acquiring an additional 16,401 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 220.5% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 4,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.5% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.