Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber Sells 30,000 Shares

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 21st, Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $158.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $193.93 and its 200 day moving average is $173.54. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.93.

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.