Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 71.2%, acquiring a total of 1,611,911 shares valued at about $96.3 million.
• Williams Companies reported earnings of $0.60 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $3.05 billion, which is a 10% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, set to be paid on September 29th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.37%.

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 71.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,611,911 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 670,107 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Williams Companies worth $96,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMB. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.27. 7,834,823 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,215,843. The company has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.41 and a 52-week high of $63.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.