Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by L & S Advisors Inc

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc increased its stake in Williams Companies by 73.0%, owning 134,361 shares worth approximately $8,029,000 after acquiring additional shares.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, set to be paid on September 29th.
• Williams Companies reported earnings of $0.60 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and indicating a revenue increase of 10.0% compared to the previous year.

L & S Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 73.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 134,361 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,702 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for about 1.0% of L & S Advisors Inc's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,081,000 after purchasing an additional 87,031 shares during the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,130,000 after purchasing an additional 10,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 183,317 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $9,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,618 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE WMB opened at $60.27 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $59.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.29. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $63.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.66.

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, 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 analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Seven equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.77.

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.

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