Crestline Management LP Increases Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Crestline Management LP lifted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 131.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,189 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying 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 also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $575,103,000. Blackstone Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $190,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,370,974 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $273,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $495,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,964,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $57.67 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.91 and a 200 day moving average of $56.67. The stock has a market cap of $70.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. Citigroup lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies 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.