Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.66 Per Share

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 19th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.66 per share by the specialty retailer on Saturday, May 24th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a 15.8% increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57.

Williams-Sonoma has raised its dividend by an average of 20.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 19 years. Williams-Sonoma has a payout ratio of 24.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $8.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.8%.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $166.20 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $198.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.88.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $179.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of 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 represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 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.