Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 324.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 161,590 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 123,491 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 131,163,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,838,312,000 after buying an additional 807,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,770,336,000 after buying an additional 1,680,477 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,025,795,000 after buying an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,520,491 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,047,025,000 after buying an additional 932,998 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $913,840,000 after buying an additional 54,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have recently commented on WMB. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Williams Companies
Insider Transactions at Williams Companies
In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.
Williams Companies Stock Up 0.2%
WMB stock opened at $57.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.69 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.31.
Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business 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 last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Williams Companies Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.50%.
Williams Companies Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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