Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 200 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,178 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,370,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $720,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,617,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $165,130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1,855.7% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 39,880 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $57.95 on Thursday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.95 and a 200 day moving average of $49.46. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.