The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Wallace Advisory Group LLC

Wallace Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,899 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at $30,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $56.01 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $60.36. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $55.85 and its 200-day moving average is $49.35. The company has a market capitalization of $68.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors 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 3.39%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies 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 transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.