The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Position Raised by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 11.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 64,328 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 6,391 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 44.3% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,811 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 9,698 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 3,337 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 9.3% during the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,270 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 50.6% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,452 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.7 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $52.62 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $52.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $64.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.14.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for 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%. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 81.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. CIBC upped their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.