Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,907 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMB. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.7 %

WMB stock opened at $56.55 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $57.33. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.94 and its 200 day moving average is $44.98. 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 $68.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMB. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value 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 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies 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.