Essex Savings Bank Has $271,000 Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Essex Savings Bank grew its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.0%

Williams Companies stock opened at $59.10 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.38. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.41 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

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 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.