Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 309,156 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 422,916 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $14,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 31,206 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,061 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $52.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $63.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $52.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.96.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.