Legacy Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Legacy Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 95.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,312 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,405 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the first 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 position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.69.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.25. 7,545,940 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,116,136. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.41 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.98. The firm has a market cap of $71.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies 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.