Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.57 on February 21st

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 12th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of 0.57 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th.

Williams-Sonoma has raised its dividend by an average of 21.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 19 years. Williams-Sonoma has a dividend payout ratio of 24.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $8.50 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 Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $192.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $175.15 and a 200 day moving average of $154.27. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $95.76 and a 52 week high of $200.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% 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.