Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives $163.16 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.16.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $213.91 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $95.76 and a 52-week high of $214.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $187.30 and a 200-day moving average of $157.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% in 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 in the last quarter. 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.