Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Raised to $168.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $153.00 to $168.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 0.18% from the company’s previous close.

WSM has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.19.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.9 %

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $167.70. The stock had a trading volume of 545,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,288. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $198.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other 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.