G&S Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

G&S Capital LLC cut its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,560 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 5,089 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for 1.3% of G&S Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. G&S Capital LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.1%

WMB traded down $0.68 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.47. 4,606,763 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,028,907. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.73. The firm has a market cap of $71.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMB. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.25.

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.