The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1,855.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 39,880 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 30.3% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 22,043 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 220,101 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,048,000 after acquiring an additional 22,160 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 20,086 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 228.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 20,003 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 13,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 89,021 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,020,000 after purchasing an additional 18,102 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $52.50 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $52.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 79.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. CIBC raised 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. 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 for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.62.

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.