Fayez Sarofim & Co Raises Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in Williams Companies by 49.6% to own 24,056 shares valued at approximately $1.44 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Williams Companies reported quarterly earnings of $0.46 per share, missing estimates of $0.49, with a revenue of $2.78 billion, below the expected $2.90 billion.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with an annualized yield of 3.5%, showing a dividend payout ratio of 100.5%.

Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 49.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,056 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,971 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,138,814 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $169,873,000 after purchasing an additional 488,322 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 183,317 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,618 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $293,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 85.2% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 40,338 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 18,555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.4%

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $58.10. The company had a trading volume of 4,720,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,789,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.25. The firm has a market cap of $70.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.79 and a 12-month high of $63.45.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 100.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

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.