The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,273,629 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 48,889 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $54,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blackstone Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 109.1% during the first quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 6,466,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $252,006,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373,800 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $403,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039,703 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,753,223 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $224,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647,469 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $56,223,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 3,821.2% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,579,718 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $55,180,000 after buying an additional 1,539,431 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $45.16 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.49 and a 52-week high of $46.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $55.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 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. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 79.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com cut Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.50.

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.