The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Fractal Investments LLC

Fractal Investments LLC raised its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 531,500 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 115,000 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 4.4% of Fractal Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Fractal Investments LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $28,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in Williams Companies by 319.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 9,171 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,278 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,950 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE WMB traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.93. 5,161,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,384,752. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $55.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.00.

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.