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 firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value of $5,810,800.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $137.28 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.44. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.24 and a 12-month high of $174.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.84.

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.