The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC

Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lessened its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,427 shares during the quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $59.22 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.