Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Purchased by RR Advisors LLC

Key Points

• RR Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 85.7%, now owning 572,000 shares worth approximately $34.17 million, making it the firm's 5th largest holding.
• Williams Companies reported Q2 earnings of $0.46 per share, missing estimates, with revenue of $2.78 billion, below the expected $2.90 billion, though it saw a year-over-year revenue increase of 19%.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.50 on September 29, representing an annual yield of 3.5%.

RR Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 85.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 572,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 264,000 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 8.2% of RR Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. RR Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $34,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $56.54. The stock had a trading volume of 5,812,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,021,415. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.31. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.96 and a 52 week high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%. The business's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. CIBC raised shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.