Argentarii LLC Makes New $2.22 Million Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Argentarii LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 40,935 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,215,000. Williams Companies accounts for 1.1% of Argentarii LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Williams Companies by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 995 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $54.37 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.78 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.70 and a 200 day moving average of $53.14. 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 company has a market capitalization of $66.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

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.