Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $59.58 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.12. 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 twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue 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 analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.