Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $91,779,000 after acquiring an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,572,715.72. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $131.00 to $166.00 in a research note on Monday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Zelman & Associates began coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.81.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $160.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $156.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

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.