The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,505 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $259,985,000 after buying an additional 1,024,158 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 31.7% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $136,461,000 after purchasing an additional 718,915 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $325,726,000 after purchasing an additional 618,056 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 2,097,941 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $95,771,000 after purchasing an additional 443,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 102.2% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 865,538 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $39,512,000 after purchasing an additional 437,486 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $0.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.16. 7,330,361 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,311,205. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $53.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.74. The firm has a market cap of $69.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.07.

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.