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

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $195.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently 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 previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.13.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $0.98 during mid-day 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.88. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The company 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 revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.