The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price upped by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $170.00 to $224.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.97% from the company’s previous close.

WSM has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $211.39 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.55. The firm has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $95.76 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 53,835 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,201,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $927,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,655 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,596,000 after buying an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. 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.