Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Sells 10,855 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 46.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 10,855 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 19.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,631,288,000 after buying an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3,490.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,600,239 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $86,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,667 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 224.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,334,307 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $60,909,000 after purchasing an additional 922,550 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 31.7% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $136,461,000 after purchasing an additional 718,915 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,398,004,000 after purchasing an additional 520,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $59.22 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.33 and its 200-day moving average is $50.12. 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 company has a market capitalization of $72.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.