Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $18.12 Million Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 303,288 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 37,541 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.47. 4,606,763 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,044,355. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $59.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.84. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.41 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The company has a market cap of $71.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMB. Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays raised their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total transaction of $125,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.