Williams-Sonoma Boosts Dividend and Buybacks. Earnings Were Good, Too.

Shares of Williams-Sonoma were trading higher after the seller of housewares filed quarterly earnings with four pieces of good news. The company said Wednesday it is increasing its quarterly dividend by 26% to $1.13 a share and expanded its stock repurchase capacity to $1 billion. For its fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, Williams-Sonoma reported per-share earnings of $5.44, beating the consensus call for $5.12 among analysts tracked by FactSet.