Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 38,996 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 11.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 382,804 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,996 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $16,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Argus upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.83.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $45.77 on Monday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.32 and its 200 day moving average is $40.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.49 and a fifty-two week high of $45.81.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

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.