Csenge Advisory Group Trims Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Csenge Advisory Group lessened its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,641 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 6,456 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.1% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 112,830 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $6,743,000 after purchasing an additional 4,405 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.6% during the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,212 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 63.0% during the first quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.1% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 104,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $6,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $432,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $1.29 on Friday, reaching $59.38. The company had a trading volume of 7,919,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,112,531. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.41 and a 52-week high of $63.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $59.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 1.99 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given 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%.

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.