First Hawaiian Bank Reduces Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

First Hawaiian Bank lessened its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,695 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 11,278 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE WMB traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.40. The company had a trading volume of 5,986,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,862,522. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $60.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.69 and a 200 day moving average of $49.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Mizuho upped their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on 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 company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.