Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 5,612,776 Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC invested approximately $335.42 million in Williams Companies, acquiring over 5.6 million shares, representing 0.46% of the company.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%, with a payout ratio of 100.50%.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have increased their stakes in Williams Companies, reflecting strong investor interest in the stock.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,612,776 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $335,419,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Williams Companies as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Blackstone Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $190,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,370,974 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $133,772,000 after acquiring an additional 2,204,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its stake in Williams Companies by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $273,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,906 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued 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 target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.79. 6,564,599 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,905,185. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.79 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

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.