Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Trims Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lessened its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 951,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 45,732 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for about 1.0% of Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $51,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 120.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 996 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

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 transaction of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $59.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $72.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.12. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $61.46.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMB. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.