LPL Financial LLC Has $118.51 Million Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,788,575 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 240,892 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Williams Companies worth $118,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,417,000. Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 109.1% in the first quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 6,466,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $252,006,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,800 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Williams Companies by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $403,801,000 after buying an additional 2,039,703 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.1% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,753,223 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $224,203,000 after buying an additional 1,647,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $56,223,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.83.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $45.09 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.49 and a 12 month high of $45.81. The stock has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

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.