Norges Bank Takes $306.42 Million Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,797,505 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,417,000. Norges Bank owned 0.72% of Williams Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Patten Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 23,899 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 2.9% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,476 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 12,263 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 20.8% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,803 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 3.9% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 8,553 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $41.79 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $41.89. The firm has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. CIBC raised their price target on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.73.

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.