Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Bought by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its Williams Companies stake by 0.8%, adding 33,653 shares to hold about 4.14 million shares, valued at approximately $281 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company.
• Williams reported quarterly EPS of $0.54, matching estimates, while revenue of $3.22 billion exceeded forecasts and rose 10.3% year over year. The company also announced a $0.525 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.3% yield at the article’s cited share price.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Buy, with an average price target of $86.33; ratings include two Strong Buys, 20 Buys, and two Holds.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,139,269 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 33,653 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.34% of Williams Companies worth $281,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,504,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,277,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,998,000. Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $647,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 688.5% during the 1st quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 479,126 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,722,000 after purchasing an additional 418,365 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.17, for a total value of $148,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 260,259 shares in the company, valued at $19,303,410.03. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,408,470 in the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $64.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.46. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.80 and a 1-year high of $80.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $80.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 17.02%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $91.00 price target (up from $89.00) on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. US Capital Advisors lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on Williams Companies in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.33.

About Williams Companies

Williams Companies is an energy infrastructure company focused primarily on gathering, processing, transporting and storing natural gas. Its systems connect natural gas-producing regions with utilities, power generators, industrial customers and other energy markets.

The company operates pipelines and related facilities across the United States. Its Transco pipeline system carries natural gas from the Gulf Coast and other supply areas to customers along the East Coast, while its gathering and processing operations serve producers in regions including the Northeast, the West and the Gulf Coast.

Williams traces its roots to 1908, when brothers Miller and David Williams established a construction business that later expanded into energy infrastructure.

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