National Bank of Canada FI Sells 146,884 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,567,474 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 146,884 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.13% of Williams Companies worth $93,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.89 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.79 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The firm has a market cap of $70.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.32 and a 200 day moving average of $58.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.