712,990 Shares in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Purchased by Calton & Associates Inc.

Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 712,990 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $42,608,000. Williams Companies makes up 5.2% of Calton & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Calton & Associates Inc. owned 0.06% of Williams Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $575,103,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after buying an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $190,358,000 after buying an additional 3,370,974 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $133,772,000 after buying an additional 2,204,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $273,587,000 after buying an additional 2,065,906 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on 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 owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Eight 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.77.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.38. 7,919,170 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,112,531. The firm has a market cap of $72.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $59.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.14. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Williams Companies's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

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.