Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Sells 466,971 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in Williams Companies by 41%, selling 466,971 shares and retaining a total of 673,122 shares valued at approximately $40.2 million.
• Analysts generally maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating for the stock, with a price target averaging around $61.77, indicating expected growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a 3.3% yield while its payout ratio stands at 106.95%.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 41.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 673,122 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 466,971 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $40,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $0.75 on Thursday, reaching $57.89. The stock had a trading volume of 7,541,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,024,555. The business's 50 day moving average is $59.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.79 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The company has a market cap of $70.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.