Qtron Investments LLC Reduces Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Qtron Investments LLC reduced its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,033 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 6,697 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $58.52. 5,439,297 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,644,896. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.61. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.18 and a 12-month high of $61.67.

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Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One 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, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.