Ethic Inc. Acquires 5,312 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in Williams Companies by 8.9%, owning 64,951 shares after acquiring an additional 5,312 shares, valued at approximately $3.93 million.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.46, missing analysts' expectations, and its revenue of $2.78 billion also fell short of predictions.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.50 will be paid to investors on September 29th, representing an annual yield of 3.5%, with the ex-dividend date on September 12th.

Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,951 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,312 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,934,000 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. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 27.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after purchasing an additional 87,031 shares during the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 14.0% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,130,000 after purchasing an additional 10,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $977,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $57.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.69 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WMB. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set 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 report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

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.

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