Fisher Asset Management LLC Makes New $322,000 Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,238 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Williams Companies by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $403,801,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039,703 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $245,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 10,112 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 8,990 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.5 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $43.11 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.59 and a 1-year high of $43.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $52.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.38.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.83%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WMB. Argus upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. CIBC raised their price target on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.42.

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.