The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB – Get Rating) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 2,327 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Bray Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.38% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE WMB opened at $28.30 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.06 and a 12 month high of $37.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.20 and a 200-day moving average of $31.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $34.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.17.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.06. Williams Companies had a net margin of 18.69% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 10th. This represents a $1.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.33%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 106.55%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, Director William H. Spence bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.61 per share, for a total transaction of $148,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 48,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,706.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Argus downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. US Capital Advisors raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.90.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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The Williams Cos., Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company, which explores, produces, transports, sells and processes natural gas and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Transmission and Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, and West. The Transmission and Gulf of Mexico segment consists of interstate natural gas pipelines, the Transco and Northwest Pipelines, as well as natural gas gathering and processing and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.