The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Ausbil Investment Management Ltd

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,781 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,071 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises 5.4% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $10,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE WMB traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $42.40. The company had a trading volume of 201,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,658,103. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.43 and its 200 day moving average is $37.47. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.98 and a 52-week high of $43.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. US Capital Advisors cut Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Argus upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,840.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

About Williams Companies

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.