The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Lessened by Stonegate Investment Group LLC

Stonegate Investment Group LLC cut its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,377 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,295 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Down 8.6 %

WMB stock opened at $54.46 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $61.46. 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 cap of $66.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.41.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.