Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,619,140 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 22,295 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Williams Companies worth $216,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $327,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 973 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 78.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 196,459 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,711,000 after buying an additional 86,227 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.38. The stock had a trading volume of 7,919,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,119,515. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $59.36 and its 200-day moving average is $58.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total transaction of $125,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.77.

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.