Townsquare Capital LLC Has $14.28 Million Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 24.5% during the first quarter, owning a total of 238,925 shares now valued at approximately $14.28 million.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings for Williams Companies, with Wells Fargo raising its price target to $70.00 and others assigning a consensus target price of $62.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 3.5%, with the payout ratio now at 100.50%.

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 238,925 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,946 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $14,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted 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 buying an additional 6,816 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 27.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,081,000 after buying an additional 87,031 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 14.0% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,130,000 after buying an additional 10,561 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 183,317 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $9,224,000 after buying an additional 7,618 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock remained flat at $57.89 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,384,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,923,967. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock's 50 day moving average is $59.32 and its 200 day moving average is $58.25. The company has a market capitalization of $70.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.79 and a 12-month high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment 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, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.00.

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.