Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Down to $143.85

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $143.85, but opened at $132.49. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $132.01, with a volume of 680,432 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $137.50 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.77.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.60. The company has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.75.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.65. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 13.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP David Randolph King sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.93, for a total transaction of $2,878,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 101,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,539,879.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP David Randolph King sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.93, for a total transaction of $2,878,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 101,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,539,879.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Monica Bhargava sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.14, for a total transaction of $2,663,938.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,862 shares of company stock worth $11,800,439 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 153,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,341,000 after buying an additional 6,945 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 32.3% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.