Laura Alber Sells 40,000 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 16th, Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.5 %

WSM traded up $3.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $133.89. 2,744,138 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,924,238. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.52. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.24 and a 1-year high of $174.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Novare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% in the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 173,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,897,000 after buying an additional 88,936 shares during the last quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 11,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 12,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,859,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.1% in the third quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 121,545 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $18,830,000 after purchasing an additional 58,921 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Wedbush cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.47.

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.