Dearborn Partners LLC Buys 645 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,756 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.7 %

WMB opened at $54.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $65.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.88 and a 12 month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,107,758 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.