Polymer Capital Management US LLC Makes New $474,000 Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,756 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ArchPoint Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 183,317 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,224,000 after acquiring an additional 7,618 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,138,814 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $169,873,000 after purchasing an additional 488,322 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,252,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,258,289 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $68,101,000 after purchasing an additional 25,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $54.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $66.59 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.09.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

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.