Huntington National Bank Raises Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,091 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 5,742 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 31,557 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 116,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,523,000 after buying an additional 13,709 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,036,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 97.7% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,333 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 12,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 22,800 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $56.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.81. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $57.33.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on WMB shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America started coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

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.