Aberdeen Group plc Increases Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Williams Companies by 21.8% during the first quarter, now holding 1,833,550 shares valued at approximately $108.70 million.
• Wall Street analysts hold a mixed sentiment on Williams Companies stock, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $62.36.
• Williams Companies declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding around 3.5%, with an ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 21.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,833,550 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 328,700 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.15% of Williams Companies worth $108,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 27.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after purchasing an additional 87,031 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 14.0% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,130,000 after buying an additional 10,561 shares during the period. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $977,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.6%

WMB stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $56.54. 5,812,796 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,021,415. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.01 and a 200-day moving average of $58.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.96 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. CIBC raised shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

About Williams Companies

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.