The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Phraction Management LLC

Phraction Management LLC reduced its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 115,968 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for 1.9% of Phraction Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Phraction Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $817,736,000 after buying an additional 1,175,628 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 12,670,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $538,482,000 after acquiring an additional 144,713 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,648,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $410,064,000 after acquiring an additional 311,530 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $325,726,000 after acquiring an additional 618,056 shares during the period. Finally, Blackstone Inc. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 109.1% during the first quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 6,466,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $252,006,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WMB. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $56.55 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $49.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.98. The stock has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $57.33.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

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.