The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. reduced its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 50.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,269 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 5,371 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake 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 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.77.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.71. 1,255,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,716,794. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.42 and a 1 year high of $61.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $72.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.