Williams-Sonoma hikes dividend by 11.3%

Specialty home products retailer Williams-Sonoma (WSM) will raise its quarterly cash dividend by 11.3 percent to 59 cents quarterly in 2021. This follows a dividend hike of 10.4 percent to 53 cents per share announced in 2020. The company previously hiked its dividend by 11.6 percent to $0.48 per share in 2019. The year 2021 will mark 15 consecutive years of dividend increases by WSM.

The next quarterly dividend is payable on May 28, 2021 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on April 23, 2021. A new annual rate of $2.36 per share yields 1.3% at a stock price of $178.61.

“Our decisions to increase our quarterly dividend, to approve a new $1 billion share buyback authorization and to eliminate all outstanding funded debt reflect our confidence in the long-term outlook of our company, and our commitment to maximizing returns for our shareholders,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Williams-Sonoma has announced a double digit dividend hike in each of the last four years with the company now paying an estimated $181 million annually in dividends to shareholders.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a specialty retailer of products for the home. These products are marketed through e-commerce websites, direct mail catalogs and retail stores. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. currently operates in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offers international shipping to customers worldwide, and has unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East and the Philippines and stores and e-commerce websites in Mexico.