Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Sells 18,109 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 291,047 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 18,109 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $15,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 9.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 199,046 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,086,000 after buying an additional 17,983 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,590 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,159 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. lifted its position in Williams Companies by 57.7% in the third quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. now owns 15,195 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.8 %

WMB opened at $57.00 on Monday. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.03 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The stock has a market cap of $69.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.85 and a 200-day moving average of $51.71.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.