Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Reduces Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 666,498 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 128,568 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.05% of Williams Companies worth $39,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the 1st 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. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.77.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.87 on Friday, reaching $57.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,974,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,817,806. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.18. The stock has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.