Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Sells 6,549 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,933 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 6,549 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises about 1.6% of Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $12,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. CIBC increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho upped their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

WMB stock opened at $55.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $55.90 and its 200-day moving average is $51.40. 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 $67.33 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. 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.