Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Boosts Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 112.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,764 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 19,962 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMB. CIBC raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup raised their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, May 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.74. 8,203,352 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,796,789. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $58.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $72.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.95%.

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.