Empower Advisory Group LLC Invests $49.53 Million in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Empower Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 828,820 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $49,530,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Williams Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Blackstone Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after buying an additional 5,068,738 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2,303.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $190,358,000 after buying an additional 3,370,974 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6,407.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $133,772,000 after buying an additional 2,204,090 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $273,587,000 after buying an additional 2,065,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,458,270 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $349,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,189 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WMB. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.77.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of WMB opened at $59.11 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $41.26 and a one year high of $63.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.30.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 21.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

About Williams Companies

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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