State of Michigan Retirement System Has $12.99 Million Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 333,321 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $12,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Argus raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.42.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,840.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.30. The company had a trading volume of 4,385,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,678,229. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.20 and a twelve month high of $43.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $51.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 79.83%.

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.