AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 294.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 339,399 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 253,336 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $60.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $73.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business's 50 day moving average is $57.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.51. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.63 and a 52-week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.77.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.