Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,973 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 15,960 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 119.4% during the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 634 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $60.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $74.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.22 and its 200 day moving average is $57.51. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $61.67. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMB. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.25.

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.

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