The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 601,504 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 27,179 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $27,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Blackstone Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 109.1% in 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 during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $57,220,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $817,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,628 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Williams Companies by 20.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $259,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in Williams Companies by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 8,540,611 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $332,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,658 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WMB opened at $52.40 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $52.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.62.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.