The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,421,205 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,248 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Williams Companies were worth $328,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 660,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $22,988,000 after acquiring an additional 245,000 shares in the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 28.1% in the third quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 107,609 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 23,579 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 35.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,553,779 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $321,867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,331 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 6,545,151 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $220,506,000 after buying an additional 2,040,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3,338.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 352,104 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $12,264,000 after buying an additional 341,863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.26. 5,723,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,256,537. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.88. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.27 and a twelve month high of $39.76. The firm has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 29.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted 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. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.22.

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.