Candriam S.C.A. Grows Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,553 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,900 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Williams Companies by 19.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,631,288,000 after buying an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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 worth $86,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,667 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew 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 acquiring an additional 922,550 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $136,461,000 after acquiring an additional 718,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 1.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $54.37 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.78 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. 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 payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.07.

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.