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

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

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $166.20 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $198.39 and its 200-day moving average is $171.88. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after buying an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,837,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.