SVB Wealth LLC Invests $1.19 Million in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 21,923 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,186,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $266,000. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Williams Companies by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,174 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Williams Companies by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 183,795 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $9,947,000 after purchasing an additional 9,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,678,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.1 %

WMB stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $57.52. The stock had a trading volume of 5,954,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,719,221. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $70.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.74 and a twelve month high of $61.46.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.21.

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.