Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $195.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 2.85% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.13.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $0.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $165.29. 3,047,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,811,849. The company has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $198.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.88.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.