Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie Sells 36,312 Shares of Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Jeffrey Howie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 27th, Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $158.75 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $193.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.24. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.93.

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.