The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Cut by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp lessened its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 54.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,129,602 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,336,782 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $61,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $56.93 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.54 and a 52-week high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMB. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.21.

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.