Insider Selling: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Sells 40,000 Shares of Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, July 15th, Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total value of $6,258,000.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.2 %

WSM traded up $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.49. 1,652,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,995,364. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $142.23 and its 200 day moving average is $145.00. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.95 and a 12 month high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 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 1.55%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.17.

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.