Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 54,060 The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 54,060 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,926,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,400 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 3,311 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,576,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $71,952,000 after purchasing an additional 35,981 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $1,482,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 16.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 77,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 82,301 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,756,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.60. The stock had a trading volume of 6,383,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,145,003. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business's fifty day moving average price is $55.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.58. The firm has a market cap of $69.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. Williams Companies's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WMB. UBS Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, 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 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.07.

Williams Companies 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.