The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 598,274 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,373 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $32,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CIBC lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.77.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.56 on Friday, reaching $59.05. The company had a trading volume of 4,471,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,635,267. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.69 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $57.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.18.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 109.29%.

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.