The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Position Lessened by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 4.9 %

WMB stock opened at $57.52 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The company has a market cap of $70.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WMB. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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.