Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Trading Down 2.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) shares fell 2.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $315.00 to $300.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Williams-Sonoma traded as low as $279.18 and last traded at $282.55. 1,231,111 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 45% from the average session volume of 849,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.53.

WSM has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 25.9% during the first quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 8,390 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,318,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 110.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,074 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $8,914,000 after buying an additional 14,711 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Ehrlich Financial Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $272,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $265.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.40.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

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.