Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Takes $1.24 Million Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 22,826 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,016,418 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $54,997,000 after purchasing an additional 24,419 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 113.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 99,703 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,396,000 after buying an additional 52,906 shares during the last quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,102,000. Heritage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $532,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 9,882 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.49. 6,895,827 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,629,230. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $57.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.80. 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 1-year low of $37.46 and a 1-year high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMB. Citigroup raised 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.77.

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.