Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Sells 81,826 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 35.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146,107 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 81,826 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies makes up approximately 1.1% of Great Lakes Retirement Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, May 16th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.25.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.10. The stock had a trading volume of 7,878,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,812,608. The company has a market cap of $72.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.65. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $58.89 and its 200-day moving average is $57.38. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio 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.