Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Buys 15,179 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,255 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,179 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises approximately 2.2% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 20,022 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 133,409 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,220,000 after acquiring an additional 19,635 shares during the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $258,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,186,000. Finally, Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $266,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.21.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.10 on Monday, reaching $58.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,814,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,632,918. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $56.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.79. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.74 and a 12-month high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

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.