Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $172.34.

A number of research firms recently commented on WSM. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.8 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $214.88 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $198.86 and a 200 day moving average of $163.96. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $108.74 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 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.