Capital Investment Advisors LLC Has $11.19 Million Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 206,688 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,042 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $56.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,611,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,366,309. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $68.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.77 and a 200-day moving average of $49.26.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WMB. Mizuho lifted their price target 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. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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 raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.