Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $34.49 Million Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $34,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,356,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,054,876,000 after buying an additional 1,008,213 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,263,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,687,797,000 after acquiring an additional 540,533 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,236,940 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $824,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $575,103,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $0.41 on Wednesday, hitting $59.13. The stock had a trading volume of 8,340,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,023,186. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $59.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.40. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The company has a market capitalization of $72.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.25.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,941.50. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.