Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given New $184.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has increased its target price for Williams-Sonoma from $160.00 to $184.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating which implies a potential downside of 7.29% from its previous close.
• During the last quarter, Williams-Sonoma reported $1.85 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.76, with revenue growing 4.2% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity saw CEO Laura Alber selling 30,000 shares, representing a 2.92% decrease in her ownership, while institutional investors have notably increased their stakes in the company.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at UBS Group from $160.00 to $184.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. UBS Group's price target suggests a potential downside of 7.29% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on WSM. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $181.59.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $198.4590 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $179.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.96. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,991,697 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $978,864,000 after purchasing an additional 127,597 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $284,532,000 after buying an additional 407,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $283,686,000 after acquiring an additional 401,138 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.

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