Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average of $255.77

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $255.77 and traded as high as $305.30. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $303.20, with a volume of 1,834,537 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, June 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $262.13.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.49 and a 200-day moving average of $255.77.

Williams-Sonoma’s stock is scheduled to split on Tuesday, July 9th. The 2-1 split was announced on Tuesday, July 9th. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, July 9th.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $1.29. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 13.83%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, insider Monica Bhargava sold 8,931 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.28, for a total transaction of $2,663,938.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Monica Bhargava sold 8,931 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.28, for a total value of $2,663,938.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,931 shares of company stock worth $18,089,484. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $152,843,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $223,833,000 after acquiring an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4,101.0% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 138,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,846,000 after acquiring an additional 134,719 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,060,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 638.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 142,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,129,000 after acquiring an additional 123,114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.