Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Has $188.34 Million Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,407,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 506,598 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $188,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,840.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. CIBC increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, US Capital Advisors downgraded Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.45.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,426,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,710,224. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.10 and a 52 week high of $41.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.91. The company has a market capitalization of $49.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.64%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

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.