Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WSM. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $249.31.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $1.32 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $308.98. 932,753 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,065,757. The stock has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $248.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.59. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.92, for a total transaction of $4,038,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 525,509 shares in the company, valued at $106,110,777.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,329 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,906 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $152,843,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $56,497,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $50,715,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 24.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,911 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $204,292,000 after acquiring an additional 273,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,782,000. 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.