World Investment Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 11,929 The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,929 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several research reports. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 3.1 %

WMB traded down $1.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.01. The company had a trading volume of 8,836,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,373,919. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The business's fifty day moving average price is $54.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.65. The company has a market cap of $63.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

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.