The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,888 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 10,011 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Williams Companies by 19.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,697,605 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,398,004,000 after acquiring an additional 520,663 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,239,210 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $330,470,000 after acquiring an additional 67,016 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Williams Companies by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,617,300 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $165,130,000 after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 3.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,271,141 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $149,326,000 after acquiring an additional 108,675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.44. 11,081,263 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,709,167. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.26 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The stock has a market cap of $70.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.09 and a 200-day moving average of $52.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho raised 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 Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

Williams Companies Company 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.