Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,543 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,937 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,543 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,417,000. Blackstone Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 109.1% in the 1st 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $403,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039,703 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,105,754 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $143,003,000 after buying an additional 1,679,452 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,223,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $45.02 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.49 and a 12-month high of $45.10. The company has a market cap of $54.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.58.

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.