Public Sector Pension Investment Board Trims Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board has reduced its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 43.7%, resulting in ownership of 325,957 shares valued at approximately $19.48 million.
• Williams Companies reported an EPS of $0.46 for the last quarter, missing expectations and representing a 19.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equating to an annual yield of 3.4% with a payout ratio of 100.50%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 43.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 325,957 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 253,385 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $19,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% in the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Napa Wealth Management boosted its position 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 valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its position 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 valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.46. 7,187,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,766,213. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $59.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.69 and a 52-week high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

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.