M&T Bank Corp Grows Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,970 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,906 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 19.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,631,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $538,482,000 after acquiring an additional 144,713 shares during the period. 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 worth $410,064,000 after acquiring an additional 311,530 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $325,726,000 after purchasing an additional 618,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.43. 7,224,173 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,354,839. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $54.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.24.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WMB. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 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 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

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.