Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given New $168.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $153.00 to $168.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WSM. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wedbush lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.13.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $165.29 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.83. The stock has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm 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%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. 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 payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.