Columbus Macro LLC Has $8.32 Million Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Columbus Macro LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,143 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,755 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies makes up 1.1% of Columbus Macro LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of WMB opened at $59.74 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 106.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

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.