The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by Perigon Wealth Management LLC

Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 138.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,509 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,814 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $55.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $61.46. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $56.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.58. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.