Sanctuary Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 452,739 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 134,643 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $20,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 35.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,865 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,361 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 197,941 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,413,000 after buying an additional 4,203 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 226.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,329 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 8,551 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 22,008 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 224,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.34. 1,676,899 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,331,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company's 50 day moving average is $54.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.24. The company has a market cap of $66.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $60.36.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.07.

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.