Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Down 5.2%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) dropped 5.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $289.04 and last traded at $291.45. Approximately 447,268 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 1,046,503 shares. The stock had previously closed at $307.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com cut Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $262.13.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $298.12 and a 200-day moving average of $258.13. The stock has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma shares are scheduled to split before the market opens on Tuesday, July 9th. The 2-1 split was announced on Tuesday, July 9th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, July 9th.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $1.29. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 13.83%. 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 dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.75%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, insider Monica Bhargava sold 8,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP David Randolph King sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.85, for a total transaction of $2,878,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,539,879.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Monica Bhargava sold 8,931 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were 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. Insiders have sold 56,747 shares of company stock valued at $17,403,752 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,918 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 785,457 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $249,406,000 after acquiring an additional 18,358 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 785,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,426,000 after acquiring an additional 72,843 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $152,843,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,833,000 after acquiring an additional 192,432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.