Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 34.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,337 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 18,673 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMB. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies 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 company's 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE WMB opened at $59.38 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.41 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.16. The stock has a market cap of $72.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

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.

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