Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Purchased by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. by 14.4%, acquiring an additional 43,618 shares to reach a total of 345,548 shares.
• Several hedge funds have also recently adjusted their positions in Williams Companies, with significant increases from firms like Brighton Jones LLC and Guggenheim Capital LLC.
• The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share set to be paid on September 29th.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 14.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,548 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 43,618 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $20,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% during the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 13.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.6%

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $56.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,812,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,777,148. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $59.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.96 and a 52-week high of $63.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Cibc World Mkts raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, CIBC raised Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.