Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,258,289 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,359 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $68,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 24.4% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,701 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 3,477 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 195,037 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,903,000 after acquiring an additional 51,935 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 105,077 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,797,000 after acquiring an additional 17,875 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 365,154 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,693,000 after purchasing an additional 102,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,706 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 6,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 7.5 %

NYSE WMB opened at $54.61 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $66.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. CIBC boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.