Covalis Capital LLP Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Covalis Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 88,857 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $4,809,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,271,141 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $149,326,000 after purchasing an additional 108,675 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at $1,346,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,514 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 48.8% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,533 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 6,409 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $58.49 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.46 and a 12-month high of $61.67. 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 market cap of $71.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.80.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMB. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.77.

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.

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