Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 8,962 The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,962 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $485,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of WMB stock traded up $1.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $59.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,978,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,724,667. The company has a market cap of $72.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. 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 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.