The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY cut its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 684,097 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 26,919 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $37,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,811,000 after buying an additional 19,782 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after buying an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 9,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,074,000 after acquiring an additional 10,950 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $55.93 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.19. The company has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 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 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies 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.