The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp reduced its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 54.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,129,602 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,336,782 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $61,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,811,000 after buying an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 9,171 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 83,429 shares during the period. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective 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 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.21.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $56.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $56.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.53. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.54 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $69.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

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.