The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Increased by Cadent Capital Advisors LLC

Cadent Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $310,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,292,000 after buying an additional 16,579 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,159 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,269 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 45,672 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 11,994 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.46.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $52.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $63.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.29 and a 200-day moving average of $42.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $52.44.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 81.55%.

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.