Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Cut to $185.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $185.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.31% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE WSM opened at $166.20 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.88. The company has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $557,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,138,000 after purchasing an additional 28,880 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $1,111,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.