Sowell Financial Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 36.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,824 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,938 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $54.00 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.70 and a 200-day moving average of $53.26. The firm has a market cap of $65.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.88 and a twelve month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,107,758 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.