The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Reduced by Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 147,444 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 11,833 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises about 2.4% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $59.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,990,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,763,657. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $58.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.32. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.41 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67. The stock has a market cap of $72.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.