Evercore ISI Raises Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $320.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target increased by Evercore ISI from $300.00 to $320.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com raised Williams-Sonoma from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $249.31.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $314.18 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $317.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.66.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.3 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 Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $10,044,174. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $226,287,000 after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,142,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $142,944,000 after buying an additional 35,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.