Jackson Square Capital LLC Invests $491,000 in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Jackson Square Capital LLC purchased a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,211 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $491,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 20,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE WMB traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $59.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,650,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,780,866. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.70 and a 200 day moving average of $57.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65.

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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.25.

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.