QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 36,947 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,848 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 36,947 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. 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 Friday, May 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.25.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of WMB stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.10. The stock had a trading volume of 7,878,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,812,608. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.41 and a 12-month high of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm's 50-day moving average is $58.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.