Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 293,776 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,341,474 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 293,776 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Williams Companies worth $126,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 7.5 %

Shares of WMB traded down $4.42 on Friday, reaching $54.61. 18,979,148 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,574,236. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87.

Remove Ads

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WMB. Scotiabank increased their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.07.

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.