Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given New $140.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $110.00 to $140.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sell” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 20.87% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WSM. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $127.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.78.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:WSM traded up $5.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $176.92. The company had a trading volume of 475,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,679. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $176.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.93.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The specialty retailer reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 64.43% and a net margin of 11.68%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 13.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,630,201.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $15,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 565,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,875,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,630,201.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,000 shares of company stock worth $19,496,290 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,063 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 157,604 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,492,000 after buying an additional 4,386 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 429.5% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 11,771 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after acquiring an additional 9,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 54,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $8,469,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.76% 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.