Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 6.3%, now owning 77,358 shares valued at approximately $4.62 million.
• Williams Companies reported $0.60 earnings per share for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates of $0.55, with revenue rising 10% year-over-year to $3.05 billion.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend of $0.50 represents a 3.46% yield, although it also indicated a payout ratio of 106.95%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,358 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total transaction of $125,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of WMB traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $60.23. 2,174,459 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,739,049. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.41 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $73.44 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.37 and a 200 day moving average of $58.24.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company 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 3.32%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.77.

Williams Companies Company 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.