Quantbot Technologies LP Buys New Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 38,099 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $2,074,000. ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $565,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $731,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $164,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.07.

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Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % 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 worth $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.30 on Tuesday, reaching $60.79. 3,516,478 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,181,012. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $57.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.17. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $74.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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%. On average, research 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 disclosed 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 is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

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.