Cwm LLC Acquires 6,701 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

CWM LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,524 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,701 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of WMB stock traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.38. 7,919,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,121,069. The firm has a market cap of $72.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.41 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.08.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.77.

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.