The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stock Position Decreased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 85.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 337,132 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of WMB stock traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $55.64. The company had a trading volume of 749,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,820,116. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.53 and a 200-day moving average of $48.98. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $67.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMB. CIBC increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.