Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Williams Companies by 27.2% during the first quarter, now holding 69,453 shares valued at approximately $4.15 million.
• A number of hedge funds have significantly increased their holdings in Williams Companies, with Blackstone Inc. raising its position by 36.5% and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its position by 6,407.2% in the last quarter.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a dividend yield of 3.5%, with an ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 27.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,453 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 25,922 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $335,419,000. Blackstone Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $133,772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies 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 value of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.00.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:WMB opened at $57.84 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.24. The company has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.82 and a 52-week high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.50%.

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.

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