The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,960 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 258 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $44.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.49 and a 12 month high of $45.81.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMB. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Argus upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com cut Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.83.

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.