Smith Group Asset Management LLC Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

WMB opened at $55.19 on Wednesday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.58. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The stock has a market cap of $67.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.