Sciencast Management LP Makes New $2.07 Million Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 38,327 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,074,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Williams Companies by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.07.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, reaching $60.78. The company had a trading volume of 6,528,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,183,568. The stock has a market cap of $74.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.18 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67. The company's fifty day moving average is $57.25 and its 200 day moving average is $54.29.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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 boost 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 (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

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.