Kestra Investment Management LLC Makes New $1 Million Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,899 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,000,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $56.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,216,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,272,110. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.38. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $69.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. 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 note on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.79.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.