Sivia Capital Partners LLC Acquires 457 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 11.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,393 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $60.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.32. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $40.41 and a one year high of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Williams Companies’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

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.