The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc reduced its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 232,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 8,630 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $12,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Williams Companies by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,631,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,398,004,000 after purchasing an additional 520,663 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,239,210 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $330,470,000 after purchasing an additional 67,016 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Williams Companies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,617,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $165,130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,271,141 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $149,326,000 after purchasing an additional 108,675 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $57.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.85 and a 12-month high of $61.46. 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 firm has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.