The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Raised by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 44.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 262,495 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 80,716 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 5.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $817,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,628 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Williams Companies by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $403,801,000 after buying an additional 2,039,703 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $306,417,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 8,540,611 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $332,828,000 after buying an additional 1,010,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,046,096 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $274,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27,233 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock opened at $45.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.17. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.49 and a 52 week high of $45.81.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.83.

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.