Sound Income Strategies LLC Buys 216 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,463 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 120.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 996 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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, January 10th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $59.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.18. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Williams Companies Company 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.