Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Sells 36,312 Shares of Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Jeffrey Howie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 27th, Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $158.75 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $193.93 and a 200-day moving average of $173.24. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after acquiring an additional 12,061 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 131.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,961 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 76.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 94,973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,713,000 after buying an additional 41,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 63.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.93.

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.