The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 49.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,479 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 15,810 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Williams Companies by 127.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 265,747 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $14,382,000 after purchasing an additional 149,119 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 209,344 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $11,330,000 after buying an additional 14,307 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,012,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 152.3% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 16,142 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 9,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $60.78. 6,528,794 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,183,568. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.29. The stock has a market cap of $74.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, 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. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Williams Companies

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.