Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Acquires 45,160 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 526,380 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,160 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $28,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.54. The stock had a trading volume of 5,771,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,500,294. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.67. 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 fifty day moving average of $57.31 and a 200 day moving average of $54.81. The company has a market cap of $73.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid 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 dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WMB. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.