Empowered Funds LLC Sells 25,903 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 9.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 250,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 25,903 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. CIBC upped their target price on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Truist Financial upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Argus upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. 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, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.7 %

WMB stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,332,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,874,404. The company has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.49 and a 12 month high of $43.22. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.36 and its 200-day moving average is $38.09.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

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