Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,290 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $223,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 20,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 37,458 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,058 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 121.6% during the 1st quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 22,459 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 12,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 34.6% during the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,394 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.91. The company had a trading volume of 6,978,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,764,513. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.41 and a 1-year high of $61.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $58.39 and its 200-day moving average is $57.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. 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. CIBC increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.