The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) is Blackstone Inc.'s 5th Largest Position

Blackstone Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 36.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up 4.7% of Blackstone Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Blackstone Inc. owned approximately 1.55% of Williams Companies worth $1,025,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 3.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,271,141 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $149,326,000 after acquiring an additional 108,675 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $545,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,514 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,533 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 6,409 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,576,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $71,952,000 after buying an additional 35,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of WMB traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $59.00. The stock had a trading volume of 7,946,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,649,885. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.60. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.76 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $71.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WMB shares. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.15.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.