Norges Bank Invests $575.10 Million in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,626,447 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,103,000. Norges Bank owned 0.87% of Williams Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE WMB opened at $59.24 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.07.

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.