Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Sells 15,412 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC decreased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 312,567 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 15,412 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Napa Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,712 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in Williams Companies by 13.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,700 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $58.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.79 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.30.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WMB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.77.

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.