Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Takes $1.25 Million Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased 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 Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,140 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,252,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $8,811,000 after buying an additional 19,782 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 9,171 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,062,000 after buying an additional 83,429 shares during the period. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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Williams Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.75. 3,052,407 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,656,223. The company's 50-day moving average is $57.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.36. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The firm has a market cap of $67.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.07.

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.