Empirical Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 612.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,193 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,933 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 120.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 996 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.22. The company had a trading volume of 8,207,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,068,557. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $60.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $56.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $72.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Williams Companies 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.