Whittier Trust Co. Grows Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,061 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.8% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 31,206 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 15,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schulhoff & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 17,883 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $52.24 on Thursday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $52.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $63.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.83 and its 200 day moving average is $43.14.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.62.

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.