Columbus Macro LLC Purchases 9,755 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Columbus Macro LLC lifted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,143 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,755 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 1.1% of Columbus Macro LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Columbus Macro LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,539 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 119.4% in the first quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 634 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $204,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 25,965 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 4.2% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,259 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.25.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $59.13. The company had a trading volume of 5,803,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,792,811. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The company has a market capitalization of $72.10 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $58.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Williams Companies Company 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.