Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.57

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 12th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of 0.57 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th.

Williams-Sonoma has raised its dividend payment by an average of 20.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 19 years. Williams-Sonoma has a payout ratio of 26.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $8.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.8%.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.2 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $195.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $152.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.60. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $95.76 and a 1-year high of $198.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,160 shares of company stock valued at $11,590,952. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

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.