Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 200.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,912 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,283 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

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 transaction of $125,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $57.66 on Tuesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $63.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $59.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $70.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.77.

Williams Companies 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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