Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.90

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 16th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.90 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, May 26th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 20th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78.

Williams-Sonoma has raised its dividend by an average of 17.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Williams-Sonoma has a payout ratio of 22.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Williams-Sonoma to earn $13.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.7%.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of WSM opened at $116.86 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.62. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $101.58 and a 1-year high of $176.89.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 16th. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.60 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 83.08% and a net margin of 13.48%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $114.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Friday. Cowen lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Williams-Sonoma from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $150.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,499,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,292,000 after purchasing an additional 273,424 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 815,713 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $93,742,000 after purchasing an additional 213,398 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 294.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 262,866 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,209,000 after purchasing an additional 196,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 36.3% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 640,563 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,071,000 after purchasing an additional 170,511 shares during the last quarter. 99.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.