Caxton Associates LP Buys Shares of 214,331 The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 214,331 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $11,600,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of WMB traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.67. 3,845,580 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,780,818. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.34 and a 1-year high of $61.67. The company has a market cap of $70.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. CIBC boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.50.

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.