Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Raises Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 268.6% in Q1, holding 217,708 shares valued at approximately $13 million.
• Williams Companies reported an EPS of $0.46, missing estimates by $0.03, with revenue of $2.78 billion, below expectations of $2.90 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a payout ratio of 100.50%, payable on September 29th.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 268.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,708 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 158,640 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $13,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.46. 7,538,814 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,040,435. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $70.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.69 and a 52-week high of $63.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.29.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. CIBC upgraded Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

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.