Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Stake Increased by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 749.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,537 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,292 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total transaction of $125,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.3%

WMB stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.97. 1,142,811 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,805,897. The company has a market capitalization of $70.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. 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 $59.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.18.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. Williams Companies's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.77.

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.