Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 162,063 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $8,771,000. Williams Companies makes up approximately 3.6% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its stake in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings 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 during the period. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC grew its holdings 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 raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB traded up $0.58 on Monday, reaching $59.77. The company had a trading volume of 8,266,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,500,109. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The company has a market cap of $72.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, 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 quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.60.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.07.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.