Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 6,003 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,916 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 6,003 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Napa Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.2%

WMB stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.18. 9,977,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,755,832. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.27. The stock has a market cap of $74.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.41 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 106.95%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, May 16th. CIBC boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.75.

About Williams Companies

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.