The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stock Position Raised by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,174,898 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 13,235 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Williams Companies worth $63,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

WMB stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.67. 3,845,632 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,656,954. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.57 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $57.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.70. The company has a market capitalization of $70.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

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.