The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Augustine Asset Management Inc.

Augustine Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,039 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 838 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its stake in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 995 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $55.24 on Wednesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $67.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

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.