Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Boosts Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises 1.1% of Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 27.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $24,081,000 after purchasing an additional 87,031 shares during the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 14.0% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,130,000 after buying an additional 10,561 shares during the period. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $977,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.24. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.82 and a twelve month high of $63.45.

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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%. Williams Companies’s revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

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.