Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $13.95 Million Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 305,610 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 44,593 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $13,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 78,548 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,586,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WMB shares. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $55.19. 8,020,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,351,326. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.18. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

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.