Morton Community Bank Sells 4,400 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Morton Community Bank reduced its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.8%, now owning 86,344 shares worth approximately $5.16 million, making it the bank's 15th largest position.
• Williams Companies reported $0.46 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.03, with revenue also falling short of expectations at $2.78 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.5%, while maintaining a dividend payout ratio of 100.50%.

Morton Community Bank reduced its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,344 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up about 1.4% of Morton Community Bank's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Morton Community Bank's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 6.8% in the first quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 11,624 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,502,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,072 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 99.2% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 4,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 24,056 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 7,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB remained flat at $57.89 during trading hours on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 5,384,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,032,047. The business's 50 day moving average price is $59.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.79 and a twelve month high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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