129,388 Shares in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Bought by Columbus Macro LLC

Columbus Macro LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 129,388 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,002,000. Williams Companies comprises about 1.0% of Columbus Macro LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,504,850 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $81,367,000 after acquiring an additional 26,846 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 8,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,566 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $56.23 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Company 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.