Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $38.25 Million Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 706,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 6,385 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $38,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $59.92 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.29 and a 200-day moving average of $54.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.67.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMB. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.