Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $231,000 Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,272 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 138.5% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 14,814 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 17,274 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 7,570 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMB. Mizuho raised their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WMB opened at $55.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

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.