The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,898 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,076 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $56.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.37. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.56 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

About Williams Companies

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.