2,525 Shares in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Acquired by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,525 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.0 %

WMB opened at $57.33 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.84 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $56.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.51. The company has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.07.

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.