Blue Trust Inc. Grows Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,838 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,679 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $55.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $56.40 and its 200 day moving average is $50.49. The company has a market cap of $67.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released 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 return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Williams Companies 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.