Mount Lucas Management LP Invests $1.69 Million in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 28,328 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,693,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $125,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.65. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $40.41 and a one year high of $63.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.16.

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. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.95%.

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.

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