Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

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

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $5.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $158.75. 2,284,175 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,982,330. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.06. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd 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. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.