Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given New $165.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 3.74% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $3.63 on Thursday, hitting $171.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,672,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,960,644. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.34 and its 200-day moving average is $144.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $89.87 and a 52-week high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 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.