The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Holdings Increased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,331 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd 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 stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock opened at $55.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.26.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. CIBC boosted their price target 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, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One 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 MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.