Toronto Dominion Bank Grows Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 171.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,897 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,046 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,270 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 163.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 556 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,089 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,174 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.8 %

WSM stock traded down $1.50 during trading on Monday, hitting $194.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,870,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,184. The stock has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $153.19 and a 200-day moving average of $148.05. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $95.76 and a one year high of $198.70.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

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.