Castleview Partners LLC Acquires 183 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Castleview Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,492 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $60.44 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $59.06 and its 200 day moving average is $57.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

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.