Financial Life Planners Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Financial Life Planners bought a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 552 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its position in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

WMB opened at $56.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.86. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $61.46. 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 issued its earnings results 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 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.