Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Upgraded to “Neutral” by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $275.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior target price of $245.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams-Sonoma from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $12.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $304.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,104,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 809,075. The firm has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $109.44 and a 12 month high of $319.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $281.84 and a 200 day moving average of $222.21.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $272,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $309,000. TFB Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $270,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $5,286,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 71.7% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 431 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.