Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Sells 7,614 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lessened its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 91,302 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 7,614 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 3.5% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.2%

WMB stock opened at $60.44 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $73.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.06 and a 200-day moving average of $57.44.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.