Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Williams Companies by 5.9%, selling 497,893 shares during the first quarter, and now owns approximately 0.65% of the company valued at $475.28 million.
• Williams Companies reported a quarterly EPS of $0.46, missing estimates of $0.49, with a total revenue of $2.78 billion, below the expected $2.90 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in a 3.5% yield, with a payout ratio currently at 100.50%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,954,114 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 497,893 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.65% of Williams Companies worth $475,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 4.3% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 68,145 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 50,005 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 137,851 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,238,000 after purchasing an additional 15,053 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 76,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,596,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 345,548 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $20,650,000 after purchasing an additional 43,618 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.6%

WMB traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $56.54. 5,812,796 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,021,415. The stock has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. The business's 50 day moving average is $58.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.31. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.96 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

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.