Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Trading Up 4.5% – Time to Buy?

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s stock price traded up 4.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $150.56 and last traded at $145.17. 3,732,209 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 86% from the average session volume of 2,006,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.93.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is 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.