Geode Capital Management LLC Has $1.40 Billion Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 520,663 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.52% of Williams Companies worth $1,398,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 19.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,631,288,000 after buying an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $259,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,158 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 224.1% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,334,307 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $60,909,000 after acquiring an additional 922,550 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 31.7% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $136,461,000 after purchasing an additional 718,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $325,726,000 after purchasing an additional 618,056 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Price Performance

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.39. 7,781,411 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,343,081. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.11 and a 200 day moving average of $47.13. The stock has a market cap of $67.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

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.