Fractal Investments LLC Boosts Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Fractal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 416,500 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,500 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises approximately 3.2% of Fractal Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Fractal Investments LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $19,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 5.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $817,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,628 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 12,670,175 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $538,482,000 after purchasing an additional 144,713 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,648,918 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $410,064,000 after purchasing an additional 311,530 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 8,540,611 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $332,828,000 after buying an additional 1,010,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $325,726,000 after buying an additional 618,056 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded up $2.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $55.33. 8,173,897 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,253,613. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $55.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.14.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.38.

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.