The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by New Hampshire Trust

New Hampshire Trust lowered its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,373 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $720,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,074,000 after buying an additional 10,950 shares in the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,370,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Williams Companies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,617,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $165,130,000 after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $59.22 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.81. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $72.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays increased their price objective 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. CIBC lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.