The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,688 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,042 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMB. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $55.93. 2,510,261 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,456,599. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.26.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.