Strategy Asset Managers LLC Acquires New Shares in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC purchased a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,384 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $702,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,298 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 31,206 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Williams Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.54.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WMB stock opened at $58.70 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.76 and a 200-day moving average of $45.40. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $59.17. The company has a market capitalization of $71.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 25,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the 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 approximately $13,777,218. This 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 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.