Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Trims Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 21.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 16,196 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,370,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Williams Companies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,617,300 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $165,130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 1,855.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,029 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 39,880 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Williams Companies by 402.9% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 91,983 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,199,000 after purchasing an additional 73,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 41.5% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 89,757 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 26,337 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.32. 1,498,601 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,330,403. The firm has a market cap of $66.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $54.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.24. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies 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 transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Williams Companies

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.