The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Reaves W H & Co. Inc.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,140,093 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,646 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises 1.6% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $61,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of WMB stock opened at $57.52 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.89. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.74 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $70.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.21.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.