Allstate Corp Purchases New Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 36,172 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,958,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,811,000 after buying an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 319.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 9,171 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 83,429 shares during the period. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of WMB stock traded up $1.07 on Wednesday, reaching $61.64. 6,810,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,501,986. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.18 and a 1-year high of $61.85. The stock has a market cap of $75.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.81.

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Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WMB. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.07.

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.