Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.13

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of 1.13 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, May 24th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90.

Williams-Sonoma has raised its dividend by an average of 20.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 19 consecutive years. Williams-Sonoma has a payout ratio of 28.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $16.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.1%.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $282.55 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $265.33 and its 200-day moving average is $211.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.70. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.06.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 229.8% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. 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.