American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Williams Companies by 6.7%, owning approximately $305.68 million worth of shares after selling 367,425 shares in the first quarter.
• Several research firms have issued positive ratings on Williams Companies, with a consensus price target of $62.36 and various analysts rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in a yield of 3.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 100.50%.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,115,057 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 367,425 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.42% of Williams Companies worth $305,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,489,000 after acquiring an additional 6,816 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 27.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,130,000 after purchasing an additional 10,561 shares during the period. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $977,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WMB shares. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.6%

WMB traded down $0.92 on Monday, reaching $56.54. 5,812,796 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,021,415. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $43.96 and a one year high of $63.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.31. The company has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.