The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Boosted by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,205,584 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,267 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for 3.1% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $124,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $403,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039,703 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,417,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Williams Companies by 13.4% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 8,540,611 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $332,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,658 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 8,421,205 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $328,174,000 after acquiring an additional 55,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,018,863 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $244,467,000 after acquiring an additional 473,712 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB traded up $0.31 on Friday, reaching $42.98. The company had a trading volume of 4,332,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,874,404. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.09. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.49 and a 12 month high of $43.22.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.67.

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.