Analysts Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Target Price at $139.47

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment 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. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $139.47.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $130.66 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $80.49 and a 1-year high of $174.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.58.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $171,239,000 after buying an additional 565,745 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently 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.