The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp cut its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,466,384 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 49,666 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for 2.6% of Equity Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp owned approximately 0.20% of Williams Companies worth $112,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 15.7% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 108,302 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 14,672 shares during the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the third quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 1,855.7% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 39,880 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $1,036,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 248,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,335,000 after purchasing an additional 16,064 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. CIBC boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $56.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $57.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.03.

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. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

About Williams Companies

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.