Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,875 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 394 shares during the quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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 $59.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.47 and a 200 day moving average of $50.30. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued 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 3.19%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.