LRI Investments LLC Invests $81,000 in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.52. The company had a trading volume of 5,567,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,498,141. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.49 and a 52 week high of $45.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.98 and its 200-day moving average is $38.65. The stock has a market cap of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. US Capital Advisors lowered Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.77.

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.