Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $10.71 Million Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 78.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,459 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 86,227 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Williams Companies were worth $10,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Williams Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

WMB stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.78. 6,528,794 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,182,604. The stock's fifty day moving average is $57.25 and its 200-day moving average is $54.29. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $74.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on 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, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

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.