Graypoint LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Graypoint LLC grew its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,781 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 284 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $55.61 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.17.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

About Williams Companies

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.