IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 309.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,425 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,244 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,263,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,687,797,000 after buying an additional 540,533 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,236,940 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $824,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,618 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $575,103,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,339,794 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $397,230,000 after acquiring an additional 263,785 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.77.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.01. 2,627,079 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,816,799. 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 $70.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $59.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.18. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $40.41 and a one year high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 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.