Conning Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Conning Inc. increased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,994 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

WMB stock opened at $55.93 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.11. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $68.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.