Eagle Global Advisors LLC Has $45.23 Million Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Eagle Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 7.9% during the first quarter, owning a total of 756,847 shares valued at approximately $45.2 million.
• Williams Companies reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings per share of $0.46, below the expected $0.49, although revenue increased by 19% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 to be paid on September 29th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.

Eagle Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 756,847 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,538 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 1.9% of Eagle Global Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Eagle Global Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $45,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $335,419,000. Blackstone Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 6,407.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $133,772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204,090 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, hitting $57.79. 6,564,599 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,905,185. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.79 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The stock has a market cap of $70.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.19 and a 200-day moving average of $58.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.