Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 145,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $6,554,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,154 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 56,871 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,417,000 after buying an additional 2,236 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 14.4% during the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,299 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its stake in Williams Companies by 441.8% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,322 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies by 18.9% during the second quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 7,399 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMB. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.58. 6,948,147 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,300,237. The firm has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $53.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

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.