The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Holdings Trimmed by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 460,409 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 131,442 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Williams Companies were worth $19,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $124,000. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Williams Companies by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 65,590 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,284,000 after purchasing an additional 13,291 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in Williams Companies by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 46,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 40,129 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,501,000 after buying an additional 3,467 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Argus upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.50.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $46.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $56.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.20 and its 200-day moving average is $41.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.49 and a 12 month high of $46.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.83%.

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.