Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in Williams Companies by 6.2%, currently owning 1,179,785 shares valued at approximately $70.47 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Williams Companies, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raising its stake by 45.0% during the first quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a 3.5% yield, with the payment scheduled for September 29th.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,179,785 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 78,504 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Williams Companies worth $70,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, CIBC raised Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,538,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,789,823. The stock's fifty day moving average is $59.08 and its 200 day moving average is $58.26. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.69 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.