Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Upgraded to Neutral by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $275.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $245.00.

WSM has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a sell rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.2 %

WSM stock opened at $308.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $319.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $283.41 and its 200-day moving average is $224.11.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 31.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’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 transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, 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 $12,182,219. Company 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 18,004 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,918 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 785,457 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $249,406,000 after purchasing an additional 18,358 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 785,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,426,000 after buying an additional 72,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $152,843,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.