The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by LGT Group Foundation

LGT Group Foundation increased its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,986 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $57.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.89. The company has a market cap of $70.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.74 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMB. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.21.

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.