Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Trims Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WMB stock opened at $45.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.97 and its 200 day moving average is $39.86. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.49 and a 12-month high of $45.35.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued 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 return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMB. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.