Hudock Inc. Buys Shares of 3,737 The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Hudock Inc. bought a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,737 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMB. Barclays upped their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $54.83 on Thursday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The stock has a market cap of $66.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $55.87 and a 200-day moving average of $51.49.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. Equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.