MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 21.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 203,206 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,213 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,631,288,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,648,918 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $410,064,000 after purchasing an additional 311,530 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,239,210 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $330,470,000 after purchasing an additional 67,016 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have commented on WMB. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.07.
Get Our Latest Analysis on WMB
Williams Companies Stock Performance
Shares of Williams Companies stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $55.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,781,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,343,081. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $60.36. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $54.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.13. The stock has a market cap of $67.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.05.
Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. Williams Companies's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Williams Companies Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced 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 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Williams Companies news, 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 approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value 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. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Williams Companies Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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