Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given New $190.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating on the stock.
• Analysts have varying ratings on the stock, with one Strong Buy, seven Buy, ten Hold, and one Sell, resulting in an average target price of $189.65.
• Insider transactions show significant sales by CEO Laura Alber and CFO Jeffrey Howie, indicating a decrease in their stakes in the company.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential downside of 6.57% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WSM. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $182.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $189.65.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.1%

WSM stock opened at $203.3670 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $180.48 and a 200-day moving average of $172.40. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Groupe la Francaise raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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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