Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Stock Holdings Lowered by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co lessened its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,499 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 324 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $59.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.89 and a 200-day moving average of $57.38. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $40.41 and a one year high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

Williams Companies Company 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.