Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,210 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 8,421 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.25. The stock had a trading volume of 7,545,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,088,732. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.93. The company has a market capitalization of $71.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month 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 earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

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.