Wealthfront Advisers LLC Boosts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 218,625 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,470 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $13,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $575,103,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $190,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,370,974 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $133,772,000 after acquiring an additional 2,204,090 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its position in Williams Companies by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $273,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $1.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.87. 2,431,491 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,101,068. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.08. The company has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.41 and a 12-month high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.77.

Williams Companies Company 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.