Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,234 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 5,693 shares during the quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $545,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,617,300 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $165,130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1,855.7% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,029 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 39,880 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 402.9% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 91,983 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,199,000 after buying an additional 73,693 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 89,757 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,097,000 after buying an additional 26,337 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. The trade was 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 through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

WMB stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $58.10. 5,377,507 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,610,595. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.46. The company has a market cap of $70.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.00.

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.