The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Decreased by Phillips Wealth Planners LLC

Phillips Wealth Planners LLC reduced its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,948 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,739 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up 1.6% of Phillips Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $59.22 on Thursday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.05. The company has a market cap of $72.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WMB. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho lifted 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. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.