Panagora Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 15.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 143,536 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 25,322 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $306,417,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 109.1% in the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 6,466,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $252,006,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373,800 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 worth $403,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039,703 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,753,223 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $224,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc bought 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.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $45.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.17. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.49 and a one year high of $45.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

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. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. Williams Companies’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.83.

About Williams Companies

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.