Fractal Investments LLC Has $35.35 Million Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Fractal Investments LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 591,500 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 60,000 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises 4.9% of Fractal Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Fractal Investments LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $35,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Obermeyer Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 117.7% in the first quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 8,386 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,534 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 32,541 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.5% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 7,916,565 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $473,094,000 after purchasing an additional 113,759 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.3% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 221,227 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $13,221,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 749.5% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 78,537 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,693,000 after purchasing an additional 69,292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total transaction of $125,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.42. The stock had a trading volume of 5,390,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,099,198. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $70.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $59.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.16.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

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.