Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lessened its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,353 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 141,857 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises 2.3% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 108,302 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 14,672 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Williams Companies by 145.5% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 95,359 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after buying an additional 56,509 shares during the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,364,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $1,036,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $52.42. 1,090,461 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,233,847. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $52.82. The firm has a market cap of $63.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.55%.

Williams Companies 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.