Diversified Trust Co Acquires 16,742 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 99.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,628 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 16,742 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $56.40 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.61 and its 200 day moving average is $49.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $68.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.07.

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.