Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Trims Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its stake in Williams Companies by 4.5%, selling 8,318 shares, leaving them with 177,064 shares valued at approximately $10.58 million.
• Williams Companies reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.46 compared to a consensus estimate of $0.49, while revenue reached $2.78 billion, below the expected $2.90 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.00 with a yield of 3.3%, while its current dividend payout ratio stands at approximately 106.95%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,064 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 8,318 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $10,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,718,333.60. 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 is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.00.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB remained flat at $57.89 on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 5,384,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,032,047. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.79 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.32 and a 200 day moving average of $58.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

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.