Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 162.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,843 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,468 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $12,488,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $325,000. Next Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at about $221,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,607 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Argus upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.83.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $47.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $58.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.49 and a 12-month high of $47.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.48 and a 200 day moving average of $41.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during 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 business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 79.83%.

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.