Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Stock Holdings Lifted by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,916,565 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 113,759 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 10.4% of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 0.65% of Williams Companies worth $473,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $327,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Williams Companies by 78.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 196,459 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,711,000 after acquiring an additional 86,227 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 209,344 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $11,330,000 after buying an additional 14,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.77.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,102,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,827,019. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.41 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The stock has a market cap of $71.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50-day moving average is $59.38 and its 200 day moving average is $58.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related 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 transaction of $125,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.