Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.28.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $171.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.92. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma 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.