XML Financial LLC Grows Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped 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 Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $59.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $72.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.26 and its 200 day moving average is $50.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

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.