Partners Group Holding AG Has $47.29 Million Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Partners Group Holding AG increased its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8%, acquiring an additional 6,154 shares to own a total of 791,331 shares, representing about 2.0% of its portfolio.
• Insider selling was observed, with COO Larry C. Larsen selling 4,500 shares at an average price of $58.47, reducing his ownership by 5.48%.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 100.50%.

Partners Group Holding AG boosted its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 791,331 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,154 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises about 2.0% of Partners Group Holding AG's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Partners Group Holding AG owned 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $47,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RR Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 85.7% in the first quarter. RR Advisors LLC now owns 572,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,169,000 after purchasing an additional 264,000 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 23,954 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 64,951 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,934,000 after acquiring an additional 5,312 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 702,210 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $41,964,000 after acquiring an additional 175,830 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. One equities research 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.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $56.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,812,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,021,415. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.96 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.31. The company has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.