Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.42 Million Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 112.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,298 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 13,941 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $60.16 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.63 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The company's 50 day moving average price is $57.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.57. The stock has a market cap of $73.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G 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.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. CIBC upped their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.77.

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.

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