Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Acquires Shares of 32,460 The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 32,460 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,482,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 77,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,556,000 after buying an additional 11,000 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 82,301 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Williams Companies by 48.8% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,533 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 6,409 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,514 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,346,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.43. The stock had a trading volume of 7,224,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,188,172. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 target for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research 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. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.07.

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.