Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 8.6%, owning a total of 103,200 shares valued at $6.17 million as per its recent SEC filing.
• Williams Companies reported Q2 earnings of $0.46 per share, falling short of the $0.49 consensus estimate, and revenue of $2.78 billion versus an estimated $2.90 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,200 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 8,142 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the first 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 during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $57.89 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $59.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.26. The stock has a market cap of $70.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.79 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. 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. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

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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