Warburton Capital Management LLC Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Warburton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 23,261 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,258,000. Williams Companies accounts for 0.9% of Warburton Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. CIBC raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.07.

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Williams Companies Stock Up 1.7 %

WMB stock opened at $54.96 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $67.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.51 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $56.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.33.

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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,107,758 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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