Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 92.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,300 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 338,050 shares during the quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded up $2.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,378,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,852,197. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.51. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.41 and a fifty-two week high of $62.98. The firm has a market cap of $76.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.65. 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 (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, May 16th. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.25.

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.