TD Asset Management Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2%, holding approximately 715,487 shares valued at $42.76 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Institutional investors collectively own 86.44% of Williams Companies, with significant increases in positions by multiple hedge funds in the past quarters.
• The stock's recent trading performance saw a price of $58.88, and the company reports an encouraging quarterly earnings increase with $0.60 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations.

TD Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 715,487 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 8,349 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $42,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blackstone Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after buying an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $190,358,000 after buying an additional 3,370,974 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $133,772,000 after buying an additional 2,204,090 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $273,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,458,270 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $349,522,000 after buying an additional 1,920,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WMB traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.36. The stock had a trading volume of 3,176,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,757,643. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.41 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.27.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company 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 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Williams Companies 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.