The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 45.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,800 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 7,113 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Napa Wealth Management raised its position in Williams Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,583 shares of company stock worth $6,095,318. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $0.74 on Monday, hitting $61.25. 11,558,226 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,742,948. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.27. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.41 and a 1-year high of $61.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.75.

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.