Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Sells 8,421 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 21.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,210 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 8,421 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 9.3% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 64,345 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 5,475 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 12.4% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 27,541 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 3,028 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 6.7% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,851 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,653,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.70. The stock had a trading volume of 7,267,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,061,722. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.91. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $63.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The business's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued 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 3.47%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.69.

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.