Autumn Glory Partners LLC Trims Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Autumn Glory Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,584 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 37,113 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises about 2.4% of Autumn Glory Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Autumn Glory Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 23,160 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 890 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 158.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 55,795 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 34,205 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,255 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $57.00 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.03 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented 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 target price 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. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.