The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Emprise Bank

Emprise Bank decreased its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,110 shares during the quarter. Emprise Bank’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 11.5% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 140,081 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,953,000 after purchasing an additional 14,480 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Williams Companies by 20.3% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 264,710 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after buying an additional 44,758 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $786,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was 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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $55.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,703,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,481,137. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.26. The firm has a market cap of $68.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMB. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies 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.