Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB – Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,608,586 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,401 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Williams Companies worth $48,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Motco increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 306.2% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 784 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 52.5% in the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1,178.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 946 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.71% of the company’s stock.
Williams Companies Price Performance
Williams Companies stock opened at $34.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.18. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.80 and a 52-week high of $35.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49.
Williams Companies Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 11th will be issued a $0.4475 dividend. This represents a $1.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 8th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.11%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, SVP Scott A. Hallam sold 14,388 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.64, for a total value of $440,848.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 248,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,615,694.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Williams Companies news, SVP Scott A. Hallam sold 7,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $230,208.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 234,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,493,312. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Scott A. Hallam sold 14,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.64, for a total value of $440,848.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 248,554 shares in the company, valued at $7,615,694.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,969 shares of company stock worth $1,131,439 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WMB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. CIBC started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.42.
Check Out Our Latest Report on WMB
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 Transco and Northwest natural gas pipelines; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region, as well as various petrochemical and feedstock pipelines.
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