Horan Capital Advisors LLC. Sells 34,463 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Horan Capital Advisors LLC. reduced its stake in Williams Companies by 27.1%, owning 92,845 shares valued at approximately $5.55 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds increased their holdings significantly during the fourth quarter, with Norges Bank acquiring a stake valued at about $575 million.
• Williams Companies reported a net margin of 21.18% and a revenue increase of 10% year-over-year, beating analysts' earnings estimates.

Horan Capital Advisors LLC. lessened its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 27.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,845 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 34,463 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for about 1.9% of Horan Capital Advisors LLC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Horan Capital Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 27.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after purchasing an additional 87,031 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Williams Companies by 14.0% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,130,000 after purchasing an additional 10,561 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of WMB stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $59.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,280,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,746,490. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.24. The company has a market cap of $72.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The company 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WMB. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.77.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.