Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 1,865,623 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia significantly reduced its holdings in Williams Companies by 71.4%, selling over 1.8 million shares and now holds approximately 747,661 shares valued at $44.68 million.
• Williams Companies reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.60, surpassing analyst expectations by $0.05, and achieved revenue of $3.05 billion, a 10% year-over-year increase.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of 106.95%.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 71.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 747,661 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 1,865,623 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $44,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the 1st 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 period. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $60.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.41 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.29.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.

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