The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $56.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $68.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $60.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued 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. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Williams Companies’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Williams Companies

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.