Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 52,906 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 113.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,703 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 52,906 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,439,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,644,896. The stock's 50-day moving average is $57.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. 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 one year low of $37.18 and a one year high of $61.67.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies 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.