Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $36,000 Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 59.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 665 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WMB stock opened at $56.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.76 and a 200-day moving average of $53.37. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.56 and a 12-month high of $61.46. The firm has a market cap of $68.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank raised 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. Truist Financial raised 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.