Mariner Investment Group LLC Invests $1.79 Million in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Mariner Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 30,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,000. Williams Companies makes up about 0.7% of Mariner Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.77.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.38. 7,919,170 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,112,531. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.14. The stock has a market cap of $72.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

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.