Hourglass Capital LLC Sells 19,070 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Hourglass Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 121,810 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 19,070 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for about 1.9% of Hourglass Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Hourglass Capital LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $575,103,000. Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $133,772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204,090 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $273,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.80. 7,342,540 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,075,585. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.91. The company has a market capitalization of $70.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.95%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.69.

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.