Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $172.34.

WSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lifted 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 note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $195.03 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $110.93 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $200.79 and a 200-day moving average of $165.64. The stock has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,966,000 after buying an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,641,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.