Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 357,747 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 7,267 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $21,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE WMB opened at $58.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $59.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.98. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The company has a market capitalization of $71.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.69.

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.

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