Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $2.50 Million Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 61.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,026 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,481 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $38.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $43.16 on Monday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.49 and a twelve month high of $43.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.13. The company has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 79.83%.

Williams Companies 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.