Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 149,119 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 127.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,747 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 149,119 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Williams Companies were worth $14,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 209,344 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $11,330,000 after acquiring an additional 14,307 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,012,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 152.3% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 16,142 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 9,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $795,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB traded down $0.99 on Wednesday, hitting $59.92. 8,935,942 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,193,242. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.67. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.25 and a 200-day moving average of $54.29. The stock has a market cap of $73.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company's 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.