The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by AMG National Trust Bank

AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,627 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMB. StockNews.com lowered Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. CIBC raised their price objective 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. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $57.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $58.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its 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. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

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.