Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of WSM opened at $209.73 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.99. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $95.76 and a 12 month high of $210.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,948 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $278,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $258,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.