The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) is Barnett & Company Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Barnett & Company Inc. cut its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,765 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises about 4.9% of Barnett & Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Barnett & Company Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $116,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 13,714 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 146,333 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,680,000 after purchasing an additional 27,186 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 52,845 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 16,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE WMB opened at $59.60 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $57.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $37.18 and a one year high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMB. CIBC raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.21.

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.