The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 454.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,947 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,395 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $38.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.77.

Williams Companies Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.90. 2,781,372 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,568,675. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.84. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.49 and a fifty-two week high of $45.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $51.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,840.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.