Barclays Raises Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $131.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Barclays from $123.00 to $131.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 21.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.78.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE WSM opened at $167.22 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.85. The company has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 32.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 239.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 69.8% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 1,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $883,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $826,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.