The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 60.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,293 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 48,254 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 27,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,515,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Platform Technology Partners boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 42,494 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $58.25. 5,704,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,559,898. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.85 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.98. The firm has a market cap of $71.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, 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 is a positive change 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 3.43%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.

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.