Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 73,988 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. by 12.6% during the first quarter, owning 659,223 shares valued at approximately $39.4 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Brighton Jones LLC and Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, have significantly strengthened their stakes in Williams Companies, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Williams Companies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a yield of 3.46%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 106.95%.

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 659,223 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 73,988 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.05% of Williams Companies worth $39,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $57.50. 5,337,433 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,816,833. The company's 50 day moving average is $59.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.22. The company has a market capitalization of $70.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month 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.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $19,790,941.50. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMB. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed 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 target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.77.

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.