Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Sells $6,020,166.48 in Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 transaction of $273,602.56.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $158.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current 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 is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,079,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.