The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Position Boosted by Crestline Management LP

Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 131.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,189 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,483 shares during the quarter. Crestline Management LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $57.04. 6,472,872 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,656,218. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.76. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.57 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The company has a market cap of $69.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 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 analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.