Whalen Wealth Management Inc. Invests $548,000 in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,173 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 period. Castleview Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% during the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.25.

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $60.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.41 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.44.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

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.

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