Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Makes New Investment in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC made a significant investment of approximately $33.36 million in Williams Companies, acquiring 558,270 shares in the first quarter, according to their recent 13F filing.
• Despite a missed earnings estimate for the latest quarter, Williams Companies reported a revenue increase of 19.0% compared to the previous year, with earnings per share of $0.46.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%, with payment scheduled for September 29th.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 558,270 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $33,362,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMB. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% 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. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating 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. Argus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.86.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $56.54. The stock had a trading volume of 5,812,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,777,148. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.96 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $59.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.