The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Fourpath Capital Management LLC

Fourpath Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,946 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 7,270 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for 1.1% of Fourpath Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Fourpath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,074,000 after buying an additional 10,950 shares during the period. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,370,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. CIBC lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

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

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.