The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC raised its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 108,302 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 14,672 shares during the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% during the third quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1,855.7% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 39,880 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $1,036,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 248,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,335,000 after acquiring an additional 16,064 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group boosted 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.54.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value 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. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $56.55 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.81. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $57.33. 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 company has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued 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. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 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.