Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,903 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 81.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $61.64 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.86. The company has a market capitalization of $75.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.07.

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.