State of Michigan Retirement System Increases Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 332,021 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $20,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 362.5% in the first quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,465,991 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $87,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149,045 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 9.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 153.4% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 831 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 95.8% in the first quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 11,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 9.3% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 64,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 5,475 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $57.97 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $70.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.48 and a 1 year high of $65.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $60.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.41.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.73.

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.