The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake 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 during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $56.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $60.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.03. The firm has a market cap of $68.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.07.

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.