KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 466,510 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $25,248,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMB. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 319.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares during the period. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $995,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.78. 6,501,914 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,181,012. 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 $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.55. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $57.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.17. The firm has a market cap of $74.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase 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 3.29%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WMB. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

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.