OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC Acquires Shares of 14,490 Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC has acquired a new stake in Williams Companies, purchasing 14,490 shares valued at approximately $866,000, making it the firm's 17th largest position.
• Williams Companies recently reported earnings of $0.46 per share for the quarter, falling short of analysts' estimates of $0.49, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Williams Companies, with upgrades from Wolfe Research and Wells Fargo, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to a "sell" rating, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold."

OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $866,000. Williams Companies comprises about 1.0% of OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 4.2% in the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in Williams Companies by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.2%

WMB traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.46. The company had a trading volume of 7,538,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,040,435. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.69 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The business's fifty day moving average price is $59.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.29. The company has a market cap of $70.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.86.

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.