Veracity Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Veracity Capital LLC trimmed its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 21.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,702 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 4,842 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $42.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,176,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,724,086. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.20 and a twelve month high of $43.22. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a P/E/G ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. US Capital Advisors downgraded Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,840.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.