Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Acquires 180 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,256,000. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Allen Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $225,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $424,000. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $812,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased 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, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE WMB opened at $56.55 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.