Marshall Wace LLP reduced its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB – Get Rating) by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 262,636 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 379,540 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 13,880 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 14,708 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. RMB Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Oak Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Oak Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,499 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. 85.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Williams Companies Stock Performance
Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $28.90 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $28.30 and a one year high of $37.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.71.
Williams Companies Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4475 per share. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 10th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 101.19%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 9th. Barclays downgraded Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Argus downgraded Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.82.
About Williams Companies
The Williams Cos., Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company, which explores, produces, transports, sells and processes natural gas and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Transmission and Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, and West. The Transmission and Gulf of Mexico segment consists of interstate natural gas pipelines, the Transco and Northwest Pipelines, as well as natural gas gathering and processing and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.
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