Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $261.15

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $261.15 and traded as high as $280.75. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $279.54, with a volume of 1,266,828 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $262.13.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.15.

Williams-Sonoma shares are scheduled to split on Tuesday, July 9th. The 2-1 split was announced on Tuesday, July 9th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, July 9th.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $1.29. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 13.83%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.75%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP David Randolph King sold 10,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.85, for a total value of $2,878,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,539,879.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 10,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.85, for a total value of $2,878,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,539,879.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,747 shares of company stock valued at $17,403,752 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.