The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stock Position Increased by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. increased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 23.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 5,130 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blackstone Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 109.1% during the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 6,466,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $252,006,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,800 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,753,223 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $224,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647,469 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $57,220,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 5.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $817,736,000 after buying an additional 1,175,628 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $259,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,158 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.5 %

WMB opened at $51.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $52.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.81.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.