Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $34.31 Million Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Williams Companies by 1.1%, owning 574,196 shares valued at $34.31 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 3.46%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at 106.95%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Williams Companies with an average price target of $61.77, following upgrades from several investment firms recently.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 574,196 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,433 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $34,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 59,121 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,200,000 after acquiring an additional 11,750 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 675.4% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 2,641 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 234,445 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $12,688,000 after acquiring an additional 5,112 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 35,307 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE WMB traded up $0.75 on Thursday, hitting $59.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,661,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,742,424. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.41 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company's 50-day moving average is $59.37 and its 200 day moving average is $58.24. The firm has a market cap of $73.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.77.

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 Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.