ABC Arbitrage SA Makes New $3.74 Million Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 69,094 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $3,739,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake 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 Williams Companies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 995 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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 lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $0.45 on Wednesday, hitting $58.25. 7,502,611 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,644,162. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.85 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $55.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.98.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.06 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. 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 is 103.83%.

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.