Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 115,535 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,494 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Williams Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.78. The stock had a trading volume of 4,884,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,181,012. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.55. The firm's 50 day moving average is $57.20 and its 200-day moving average is $54.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Research 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 announced 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. CIBC lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.07.

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.