3,142 Shares in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Acquired by Whipplewood Advisors LLC

Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,142 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.21.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.2 %

WMB opened at $56.21 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.90 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

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.