Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Raises Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 143.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,343 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,201 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMB. Scotiabank increased their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.77.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.27. The company had a trading volume of 7,834,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,791,986. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $63.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $59.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.